Geely subsidiary Aerofugia starts prototype production for aerial taxi
Aerofugia is already relatively far along with the development of the AE200-100: Initial test flights took place in 2023, and in May 2025, the company received CCAR-135 certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for the south-west region, allowing it to operate irregular passenger transport and sightseeing flights with 1 to 9 seats.
Aerofugia has now begun production of the prototype of the six-seater eVTOL aircraft AE200-100. This also means that the AE-200-100 is entering the final phase of its airworthiness certification and pre-production and is on the final step towards mass production.
The AE200-100 is Aerofugia’s first independently developed product. It is battery-electric powered and can take off and land vertically (eVTOL), meaning it does not require a runway, but only an area similar in size to that required for a helicopter. The model has six seats and is controlled by a pilot on board, while its Chinese rival Ehang relies on pilotless eVTOL aircraft. With a cruising speed of 248 kph and a range of 200 km, the AE200 is said to be suitable for use in areas such as urban air mobility, low-altitude tourism and emergency rescue. Operating costs are expected to be significantly lower than those of conventional helicopters.
Once the necessary airworthiness and type certification have been completed, the series version of the AE200 is to be marketed across the board. Aerofugia already received over 1,000 commercial orders for the AE200, including from Chinese companies Sichuan Airlines, Hualong Airlines, the Shenzhen City Transportation Low-Altitude Operational Centre and Thailand’s SIT. Production capacity for the first year is already fully booked.
Aerofugia has an interesting history: founded by Geely in 2020, the company entered into a partnership in 2021 with German air taxi developer Volocopter, in which Aerofugia’s parent company Geely had already held a stake since 2019. The partners’ goal was to bring urban air mobility to China within the next three to five years, initially with 150 air taxis.
Since Volocopter went bankrupt at the turn of 2024/25, the cooperation is likely to have fallen apart by this point at the latest. However, there were no further public statements about the partnership after 2021, so it may well have fizzled out earlier. Shortly before Volocopter’s insolvency, there were also reports that Geely allegedly wanted to take over Volocopter. However, this did not happen. Instead, Volocopter was rescued in March 2025 by Diamond Aircraft, the Austrian subsidiary of the Wanfeng Aircraft Division of the Wanfeng Auto Holding Group from China.
This article was first published by Florian Treiß for electrive’s German edition
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