EHang Holdings Ltd. (Guangzhou, China) has successfully obtained production certification (PC) for the EH216-S passenger-carrying pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This achievement follows the type certification and standard airworthiness certification EHang has also earned within the last 6 months. 

The PC is a critical certificate issued by the CAAC. Securing this certificate indicates that EHang has established a mass production quality management system that meets the CAAC’s airworthiness regulatory requirements, and the company has been authorized for continued mass production. It is also assurance of EHang’s product quality. The company’s mass production quality management system for the EH216-S encompasses raw materials, supplier management, production organization, production quality control, aircraft pre-delivery test, after-sales repair and maintenance, etc. The system establishes clear guidelines and documentation for every step in the production procedure, ensuring comprehensive traceability and safety control to guarantee that each aircraft and its components rolling off the production line are in strict compliance with the approved type design and safety requirements.

During the PC certification process, the review team of the CAAC’s Central-South Regional Administration conducted a comprehensive document review and on-site verification and validation from multiple perspectives of quality, production, testing and after-sales, based upon the Regulations on Certification of Civil Aviation Products and Parts (CCAR-21-R4), and the Production Approval and Supervision Procedures (AP-21-AA-2023-31). This included a strict and thorough assessment of EHang’s production capabilities and quality management system, including a total of 19 elements, such as organizational management, design documents control, personnel capabilities and qualifications, supplier management, production process control, inspection and testing, among others.

“The issuance of the PC is pivotal for the EH216-S as it opens the door to mass production, and a crucial step for our advancement toward commercial operations,” Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang, says. “With the PC as the starting point, we are poised to gradually expand production and delivery to meet escalating market demands.”