EHang says it will base a planned fleet of 25 EH216-S aircraft at a Thailand hub

EHang said on October 30, 2026, in a release datelined Guangzhou, that it had established an overseas regional hub in Thailand to support eVTOL deployment, regional coordination and project work across Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. The same text is on EHang's newsroom. DroneNR, on November 1, reported the announcement and wrote that commercial passenger flights have not been approved in Thailand. A hub announcement is not an operating approval, and a plan to place aircraft is not a delivery.

The photograph on this page is an EH216-S at the 2025 Paris Air Show. It is not an aircraft at the Thailand hub. The October 30 release, as opened here, does not include a photograph of a Thailand site.

What EHang says the hub is

EHang says that in the near term it plans to deploy an initial fleet of 25 EH216-S pilotless passenger-carrying eVTOL aircraft in Thailand. It says that fleet would support market-specific flight validation, operational preparation and project implementation. DroneNR reports that EHang did not say how much it is investing, where in Thailand the hub will sit, how many staff it will have, or when the 25 aircraft will arrive. The release itself does not name a city for the hub, a cost, or an arrival date. Twenty-five is the number in the plan. It is not a count of aircraft reported as delivered, and it is not a customer order.

EHang also says it has already deployed about 1,200 GD4.0 formation drones in Thailand for its drone light-show business, and that it plans to expand that fleet to more than 10,000. Those figures are EHang's. The release describes them as formation drones for aerial media, not as EH216-S passenger aircraft. The 1,200 and the 25 are different fleets.

EHang says the hub is meant to support its Global Fast Track program and sandbox work in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia, by allocating aircraft as local projects are ready. It then lists what it says it expects, "based on current plans":

Sri Lanka: sandbox launch and validation flights at Port City Colombo expected to begin in November 2026, with commercial operations under the local sandbox framework targeted by year-end. A separate page reports a November 11 demonstration date from Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence. A later report says trials were conducted at Port City on November 8. The November 11 demonstration is not reported as flown. EHang's year-end commercial line is a target in this release.
Vietnam: validation flights in the Hanoi sandbox area expected in November 2026. The same page reports that a Hanoi trial has not been described as approved.
Malaysia: an initial EH216-S demonstration being prepared for Putrajaya in November 2026, following the October sandbox cooperation with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia. That cooperation is a separate announcement. CAAM said a demonstration still needs its own approval.
Thailand: EH216-S demonstration flights planned during the ICAO advanced air mobility symposium in Bangkok in December 2026.

The release says these developments, including aircraft deployment, flight validation, demonstrations and potential commercial operations, remain subject to local laws and regulations and to operational preparations, safety assessments and regulatory approvals. DroneNR reports the same condition, and reports that EHang is still flying under a sandbox with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand that it says launched in Bangkok in October 2025. That October 2025 date is DroneNR's. This page did not open a Thai authority page.

What is not established

No Thai commercial passenger approval is stated. EHang's sentence that the hub has been established does not name the site. The fleet of 25 is a plan, not a reported delivery and not a firm order. No price is stated. The November and December flights are expected or planned, and EHang says they still depend on approvals. The release repeats EHang's statement that the EH216-S holds a CAAC type certificate, production certificate and standard airworthiness certificate. Those are Chinese certificates. This release does not say Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia or Thailand has accepted them as permission to carry passengers. A production certificate and a standard airworthiness certificate are not type certificates, and none of the three is an approval in those countries on this page.

Sources

Facts as reported by the linked sources as of Nov 11, 2026. Company targets are plans, not guarantees. Corrections: see About.