The 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) kicked off in Shanghai on November 5.

Registered in Los Angeles, USA, Ampaire Inc, also a partner of the Shanghai-based Vertaxi company, showcases three heavyweight low-altitude aircraft products of Vertaxi, including the two-ton M1 eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) passenger aircraft that is unveiled to the public for the first time.

The M1 eVTOL aircraft is unveiled at the CIIE. Photo provided to Zhongshan Daily

M1 has a fuselage length of 10 meters and a wingspan of 15 meters. Powered purely by electricity, it is capable of fully autonomous unmanned flight, with a single charge enabling it to fly 250 kilometers and a cruise speed of 200 kilometers per hour.

"It only takes 15 minutes to fly from Tanzhou Town to downtown Zhongshan," said Xie Ling, founder of Zhongshan-based company FCourier and Vertaxi.

It is estimated that the charge of taking M1 is only slightly higher than that of taking a taxi today, and will continue to decrease once M1 is widely used.

Vertaxi is an innovative air travel company. Its subsidiary FCourier settled in Zhongshan's Tanzhou in 2018, focusing mainly on the development and production of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles for industrial use. In September this year, FCourier's 40-mu (about 2.67 hectares) eVTOL R&D and production base started construction in Tanzhou.