Guangzhou's 'manned' drone targets the New Zealand market

2017-Nov-8       Source: Newsgd.com

If you happen to have attended any summits or forums in Guangzhou lately, you will probably recognize EHang, Guangzhou-based drone company, and its latest model the EHang184, which is often exhibited

If you happen to have attended any summits or forums in Guangzhou lately, you will probably recognize EHang, Guangzhou-based drone company, and its latest model the EHang184, which is often exhibited as a symbol of the city’s thriving and innovative industry.

In fact, EHang is a frequent participant in meetings and exhibitions worldwide. “Chinese enterprises, especially in this age, are born to be global,” said Xiong Yifang, co-founder and chief marketing officer of EHang Intelligent Technology, in EHang’s exclusive interview with Newsgd.com.

EHang 184 in Vogue Magazine. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Most recently, Xiong Yifang has slated the upcoming Tripartite Economic Summit between Guangzhou, Auckland and Los Angeles as being at the top of his agenda. “We had a very pleasant experience at the previous summits,” he recalled, “I see the relationship between these three cities can be fruitful based on our different strengths and market demands.”

Los Angeles, our largest market, now is also our technical partner

Over the last few years the drone business has become exceptionally hot property worldwide. Since Guangdong and the U.S. respectively house the major manufacturers and consumers, cooperation between Guangzhou and Los Angeles will bring more vitality. “Los Angeles is our biggest market,” said Xiong Yifang, “and by 2016, we had entered over 500 Best Buy stores across the U.S, the country’s largest consumer electronics retailer.”

Gathering players from both sides, the Tripartite Economic Summit has successfully pushed forward cooperation between EHang and its Los Angeles counterparts. At the first summit in 2015, EHang signed a cooperative agreement with a Los Angeles VR company, which enabled the company to apply VR technology to its drone and swiftly release VR goggles.


 

Photo taken in 2015. Former Mayor of Auckland Len Brown gives the EHang ghost 2.0 to a West Auckland surf lifesaving club, the Karekare club which is over 80 years old, and has saved over 5000 lives since it was founded in 1935. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

“I hope EHang 184 could fly above New Zealand soon in future”

Now that the company has released the EHang 184, an autonomous drone that can transport a passenger and belongings, Xiong Yifang was very excited about upcoming discussions with the Auckland representatives this year, hoping that the model could be utilized as part of the thriving tourist industry in New Zealand.

Xiong Yifang also mentioned EHang 184 was being tested almost everyday as long as it was not pouring down outside. The drone has thus far passed over 1000 tests. “We have also run manned trials: Guangzhou’s vice mayor, Wangdong, is one of our previous passengers.”

With a long coastline and small population, New Zealand will be the ideal pilot market for the EHang 184, according to Xiong. “I believe we will be welcomed by both citizens and tourists in Auckland considering EHang 184 is easy to use, is faster than ships while cheaper than helicopters,” he said.

The summit is a great chance, local enterprises should seize it”

Xiong Yifang said many overseas entrepreneurs lacked the knowledge of China’s recent progress, and the fact that the Tripartite Economic Summit was held in Guangzhou this year would deepen their understanding of both local enterprises and the business environment here.

“Overseas participants won’t just leave after attending the summit. They will also have the chance to visit local enterprises and tour around the city, which will authenticate their understanding of what we are setting out to do here” said Xiong.


According to Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office, this year’s Economic Tripartite Summit will have a variety of tours targeting participants of different sectors such as, urban planning and biomedicine. For example, participants of the urban planning sector will visit the XinYi Fair and Shishi Sacred Heart Cathedral, both of which are the city’s current key urban projects.

Photo taken in 2015. Xiong Yifang gives the EHang ghost 2.0 to Former Mayer Len Brown as a gift. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

In the meantime, Xiong Yifang said it was extremely important for local enterprises to form the global mindset in this age, and that the summit would be a good chance to broaden their horizons.

“Not many local enterprises have connections to global counterparts in their daily operations,” said Xiong, “but at the summit, they have the chance to communicate with participants from Los Angeles and Auckland, or even to approach their potential overseas customers without the need for agents. I think this will be a crucial step for local enterprises, especially SMEs, if they plan to enter developed markets.”

If you are interested in EHang, we did another interview with Xiong Yifang on his company in more detail.

 

Author: Jasmine Yin

Editor: Simon Haywood & Olivia Yang

 

Editor: Jasmine

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