Over a third of 500 respondents to a survey commissioned by Asian Sky Media for its first Asia-Pacific Urban Air Mobility report remain unconvinced that the new sector will become commercialized within the next five years, as many eVTOL aircraft developers are predicting. What's more, only 27 percent said they “fully trust” regulators to make the right decisions.
The publisher calls the report, which examines the growing UAM market in Asia including Greater China, “a first for Asia” and a vehicle for future studies into global UAM activity. Respondents ranked safety as their primary development requirement, while one of the biggest drivers for investment—environmental impact—came last. Fifty-three percent said they would pay up to 1.5 times more for UAM journeys in eVTOL aircraft that were 60 percent quicker than by ground transportation. Respondents from aircraft manufacturers universally agree that emergency medical support missions will become the first real-world application of UAM while passenger transport ranked last.
The 132-page report looks at the various designs, market status, and specifications of the 14 eVTOL developers competing for market share among Asia-Pacific OEMs. Notably, mainland China accounts for 57 percent of the OEMs, ranging from large, established automobile manufacturers to pure-play startups. In-depth interviews with executives from China’s EHang and Japan’s SkyDrive give perspectives and insights into their future vision of the industry, according to the authors.
Asian Sky Media provides detailed profiles for the countries seeing the biggest advances in UAM. This covers areas such as infrastructure readiness/ planning, regulatory status, operator services, and more.