(Yicai) Feb. 28 -- A Chinese-made electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle has completed its first public test on the Shenzhen-Zhuhai cross-city and cross-sea route, taking just 20 minutes to fly between the two cities. The journey takes 70 minutes by boat and more than two hours by car.

The five-seat eVTOL, capable of reaching a cruising speed of 200 kilometers per hour, took off from Shekou Container Terminal at 5 p.m. yesterday and landed 50 km away at Jiuzhou Port.

The eVTOL was developed by Shanghai-based maker AutoFlight and has a take-off weight of 2,000 kilograms. Also known as “air taxis,” eVTOLs can take off vertically like helicopters without needing conventional airports and runways.

Shenzhen East General Aviation will operate the Shenzhen-Zhuhai route, inking a deal to buy 100 eVTOLs from AutoFlight and planning to promote more routes and commercialization strategies.

Once the conditions are ripe, East General Aviation hopes to operate manned eVTOL commercial routes between Shenzhen and Zhuhai in southern China and launch more routes in the future, said Chairman Zhao Qi. 

After reaching large-scale operations, the price of a one-way trip between Shenzhen and Zhuhai will be about CNY200 to CNY300 (USD28 to USD42), Zhao noted, adding that a ferry ticket between Shekou in Shenzhen and Jiuzhou in Zhuhai costs CNY140, and the long-distance bus is about CNY100. 

Several global industrial giants have been involved in researching and developing eVTOLs, including Delta Air Lines, Toyota Motor, and Boeing.

China plans to put electric aircraft into commercial use by 2025, when eVTOLs will go into pilot operation, according to official documents. A green aviation manufacturing system will be set up by 2035, and aircraft power by new energy technologies will become the mainstream of development.

Editor: Martin Kadiev