Autonomous aerial vehicle technology platform EHang Holdings Limited has entered into a cooperation agreement with the city government of Seville, Spain to execute the first urban air mobility (UAM) pilot programme in Spain.

The agreement specifies that EHang will work with the Seville government to develop the urban air mobility including passenger transportation, air logistics and command and control platforms in the city. The city will also collaborate on applications for permission to conduct test flights, in accordance with Spanish and European legislation, and will coordinate with EHang in the planning of flight routes.

Furthermore, EHang will perform an aerial light show to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan's voyage around the world, which started in Seville. EHang is honoured to partner with Seville in celebrating its place in the history of exploration, and looks forward to working with Seville to make real a new phase in transportation technology.

Seville mayor Juan Espadas Cejas comments: “Establishing the partnership with EHang, one of the world's leading UAM enterprises, is a great opportunity for Seville. Our city has a rich legacy in European aviation, which we believe can promote EHang's AAV tests, operations and permit applications both in Spain and Europe. We look forward to EHang's first flight in Seville and hope our cooperation will facilitate the commercialisation of its UAM ecosystem in Europe.”

“Seville has developed a rich culture over its 2,000 years of history, so we are delighted to collaborate with the Seville government to bring new UAM technology to this ancient city,” adds Hu Huazhi, founder, chairman and CEO of EHang. “There are many old, narrow paths in the old town of Seville, which are inaccessible to automobiles. We believe our AAV can be a great solution for the city to relieve traffic congestion and better preserve historic sectors. Furthermore, as a popular tourist city, we hope to open up flying routes for sightseeing so that visitors from around the world can experience the spectacular cityscape of Seville by air.”

CEO of EHang Spain and Latin America Victoria Jing Xiang says that Seville can set a good example of a UAM city in Europe: “Seville is our first UAM pilot city in Spain, and we believe our partnership will make it a more innovative, intelligent and sustainable city. As a pioneer in history, Seville is well-reputed internationally as the starting point for Columbus's discovery the new world and for Magellan's voyage around the world for the first time. Today, Seville sets sail again with EHang and will surely take a lead in urban air mobility development of Spain and Europe in foreseeable future.”

According to the European Commission's urban mobility report, over 60 per cent of European citizens live in urban areas of over 10,000 inhabitants, and they are faced with traffic congestion and air pollution. Congestion in the EU costs nearly EUR 100 billion every year, accounting for 1 per cent of the EU's annual GDP.

As a frontrunner in UAM development in Spain, Seville joined the UAM Initiative Cities Community, which was launched in 2017 by the EU's EIP-SCC (European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities) project to promote the transformation of urban three-dimensional transportation.

In recent years, UAM has emerged as an efficient and eco-friendly solution for urban transport. It not only provides a convenient way to transport people and cargo, but could also create more than 100,000 jobs for the European Union, according to EIP-SCC's report on urban air mobility.

EHang has also established a strategic partnership with Llíria in Spain as its fourth urban air mobility (UAM) pilot city globally following Seville in Spain, Linz in Austria and Guangzhou in China.

As a technology pioneer and the first to market in the UAM industry, EHang will collaborate with the Llíria City Council to develop a 3D air mobility solution for smart cities and launch a pilot operation programme of passenger-grade AAVs designed to explore different application scenarios including tourism. In addition, EHang and Llíria City Council will work together with the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency to establish relevant systems and standards to support this new transportation ecosystem.

EHang and the Llíria City Council expect to co-develop a modernised and integrated AAV command-and-control platform in Llíria for low-altitude airspace and air traffic management, which will integrate the government demands for AAVs in smart city management.

EHang also intends to improve logistics delivery efficiency through deploying AAVs and leveraging Llíria's geographic advantage of being in close proximity to Valencia, one of the important ports in Europe and its location surrounded by sea, islands and mountains.

Manuel Civera Salvador, the mayor of Llíria, said, “We appreciate EHang choosing Llíria for the UAM initiative in Europe. Its disruptive innovation of this new urban air transport vehicle will have a profound impact on our life and many business and service sectors in the near future. We are very pleased to establish a strategic partnership with EHang to create a new mode of cooperation with not only the community of over 40 UAM initiative cities in Europe, but also the international network with advanced experiences, to become the frontrunner of this industry.”