VW-backed Gotion to power autonomous aerial vehicles

Chinese battery maker Gotion, backed by Volkswagen, has teamed up with Nasdaq-listed EHang to develop battery products for the company's electric unmanned aerial vehicles.

The two companies will co-develop battery cells, battery packs, storage systems as well as charging facilities for EHang's electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which are better known as eVTOLs, according to their deal inked on Dec 28, 2023.

On the same day, a fleet of EHang's EH216-S, a pilotless passenger-carrying aerial vehicle, completed debut commercial flight demonstrations in Hefei, Anhui province, and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

The aircraft won the world's first standard airworthiness certificate for an eVTOL in October 2023.

Gotion said the deal with EHang marks an important step for the company to enter the low-altitude civil aviation industry.

Based in Hefei, Gotion is one of the top power battery makers in China, with German carmaker Volkswagen as its majority stake holder.