Guizhou province launched its first regular cargo transport service using an all-electric vertical take-off and landing drone on 20 November 2025, following a test flight between Xiuwen district in Guiyang and Jiuzhou general airport in Huangping county. The connection spans 118 kilometres in 40 minutes and marks the first operational service of its kind in the mountainous regions of south-west China. Provincial authorities note that the same journey by road takes more than two hours, delivering an efficiency gain of more than 80 per cent.
The Guiyang–Huangping route is expected to become fully operational by the end of 2025. The provincial authorities plan to expand its use to passenger tourism and commuter transport, integrating the service into the “low altitude + logistics + medical emergency” network. Among the targets is the creation of a “one-hour rescue circle” for remote areas, together with the development of maintenance, management and training services for aircraft operators. Catl’s investment of several hundred million euros in Autoflight is intended to support advances in aeronautical battery technology, boosting energy density, range and payload capacity.
The project is the result of a collaboration involving Jd Logistics, Autoflight, Catl, provincial low-altitude economy development companies and the Guizhou pharmaceutical group. Jd Logistics managed last-mile delivery, while Autoflight supplied the aircraft and Catl the batteries. After the inaugural flight, Jd Express couriers took charge of emergency medicines, medical devices and local agricultural products, delivering them to recipients in the targeted areas.
The aircraft used is Autoflight’s V2000cg Carryall, the first eVTOL with a maximum take-off weight above one tonne to obtain all required Chinese aeronautical certifications. Its specifications include a maximum take-off weight of 2 tonnes, a payload of 400 kilograms, an operating cruise speed of 180 kilometres per hour and a range of 200 kilometres. Propulsion is fully electric thanks to Catl batteries. According to the manufacturer, the aircraft has already logged more than 40,000 kilometres of safe flights in varied environments including plateaus, deserts, coastal zones and urban areas in China, the United Arab Emirates and Japan.
The initiative forms part of the province’s low-altitude economy development programme adopted in August 2025. The 2025–2027 plan includes an integrated airspace management model, the construction of a provincial digital platform for the low-altitude network and the deployment of 5G-A communication systems alongside navigation and weather control technologies. Industrial goals include attracting eVTOL manufacturers in the certification phase, developing clusters for aeronautical engine production, and advancing battery and advanced materials technologies. Identified application areas range from drone logistics, emergency response and rescue to air tourism, agricultural and forestry operations and environmental monitoring.
According to reports published by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country’s low-altitude economy is expanding rapidly. In 2023 the sector reached an estimated value of 500 billion yuan, rising to 670 billion yuan in 2024. Forecasts point to 1.5 trillion yuan in 2025, more than 2 trillion yuan in 2030 and 3.5 trillion yuan in 2035. In 2024 more than 140 new low-altitude logistics routes were launched and the instant delivery sector handled 48 billion orders. Drone logistics alone could exceed 1 trillion yuan by 2035.
