Is the low-altitude economy booming again?
After nearly two years of dormancy, the low-altitude economy in China seems to be on the rise again.
eVTOL aircraft manufacturer Volantour recently announced the completion of a new round of financing of nearly 1 billion yuan, setting the largest single financing record in the low-altitude economy at the beginning of the year. This round of financing was led by CSC Financial Co., Ltd., and jointly invested by well-known institutions such as Lunar Capital, Vertex Ventures, Photosynthetic Ventures, and Guoce Investment. Existing shareholders such as Panlin Capital, Yunsheng Capital, Zhongke Chuangxing, and Songhe Capital continued to follow up with investments.
Shortly after the announcement of Volantour's financing news, significant policy signals were also released. The State Administration for Market Regulation, together with ten departments including the Central Air Traffic Control Office and the National Development and Reform Commission, jointly issued the "Guidelines for the Construction of the Low-Altitude Economy Standard System (2025 Edition)". The guidelines clearly state that by 2027, the low-altitude economy standard system will be basically established to basically meet the needs of the safe and healthy development of the low-altitude economy. By 2030, there will be more than 300 standards in the field of the low-altitude economy, and a low-altitude economy standard system with an optimized structure, advanced and reasonable features, and international compatibility will be basically formed, providing strong support for the safe and healthy development of the low-altitude economy.
Some investors also told us that "the low-altitude economy is no longer a technical and product issue but a policy issue. How can the policies be further liberalized? Can the airworthiness certificates or flight permits be decentralized? How long will the approval process take?" These specific questions determine whether the low-altitude economy can be quickly implemented.
Meanwhile, the secondary market has also become active. According to media statistics, since January 2026, there have been a total of 15 low-altitude economy concept stocks with a net purchase amount of over 100 million yuan by margin traders. Among them, the net purchase amount of AVIC Optoelectronics reached as high as 884 million yuan, and those of AVIC Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group Co., Ltd. and Aerospace Power both exceeded 400 million yuan, and those of AVIC Airborne Systems Co., Ltd. and Aerospace Development Co., Ltd. were also over 300 million yuan. Judging from the disclosed performance forecasts or bulletins for 2025, many companies are expected to achieve profitability. Loncin Motor Co., Ltd., Wanfeng Auto Holding Group Co., Ltd., Zongshen Power Co., Ltd., and Changyuan Donggu Co., Ltd. rank among the top in terms of net profit, indicating an improvement in the industry's fundamentals.
However, although supported by market sentiment, from a new time point of view, the support of capital for the low-altitude economy track is more based on the implementation of policies and the fulfillment of orders. In the end, only those real strong players will remain in the game.
The Largest Single Financing at the Beginning of the Year
As the core carrier for Geely Technology Group to layout the low-altitude economy, Volantour was established in 2016. It focuses on the R & D and commercial operation of global low-altitude intelligent transportation aircraft and has built a full-chain capability covering product development, airworthiness certification, production and manufacturing to commercial operation. Its independently developed AE200 series of passenger eVTOL production aircraft have been successfully rolled off the production line, and the first-phase verification test flights have been completed. Its airworthiness process remains at the leading level in the industry.
Regarding the use of the funds from this round of financing, Volantour clearly stated that all the funds will be invested in the final airworthiness certification sprint for the AE200 series, the commissioning of the global headquarters base, and the in-depth construction of the low-altitude travel business model, making every effort to promote the products from the technical verification stage to large-scale commercial use.
It is reported that the AE200 is a 5 - 6 - seat flying car with a cruising speed of about 248 kilometers per hour and a maximum range of up to 200 kilometers. After being put into operation, it will fly at an altitude of about 300 meters above the city.
Notably, this is the second round of independent market - based financing completed by Volantour within nearly three months. In November 2025, Volantour announced the completion of hundreds of millions of yuan in Series C financing. This round of financing was jointly invested by Hangzhou Industrial Investment Group Co., Ltd., Prosperity7 Ventures, and Songhe Capital, and existing shareholders such as Yunsheng Capital and Aoxiang Tianxing increased their investments. As of now, the company has completed a total of five rounds of independent market - based financing. The implementation of this large - scale financing not only adds impetus to Volantour's own development but also reflects the continuous heating up of the low - altitude economy track.
According to information from third - party data institutions, in the past year, the angel round in the low - altitude economy track led with 63 financing events, followed by the Series A and Pre - Series A rounds with 46 and 39 events respectively. The total number of events in the early rounds (angel round, Pre - Series A round, Series A round, Series A+ round) exceeded 170, accounting for more than 60% of the total annual financing events. This structure clearly shows that the low - altitude economy currently focuses on the incubation of new start - up companies and technical verification, and a large amount of capital is flowing in to tap potential early - stage projects.
In contrast, the number of late - stage financing events after the Series C round has significantly decreased. The total number of events in the Series C, D, E, etc. rounds is less than 30, accounting for only about 10% of the total. This feature reflects that the industry is still in the stage of technological iteration and scenario exploration, and most companies have not entered the mature large - scale profit - making period.
Notably, there were 28 strategic investments, indicating that industrial capital has begun to lock in high - quality targets through strategic layout and pre - position for future ecological integration.
The Year of Order Explosion
Since 2021, almost every round of financing has been labeled with "future travel" and "low - altitude economy". However, in 2025, the capital trend quietly changed. The tolerance of the primary market for "heavy - asset, long - cycle" projects has significantly decreased, and the remaining investors are more pragmatic. Compared with grand narratives, they hope to see a clear delivery rhythm and a verifiable business path.
As an important carrier for future air transportation, eVTOL (electric vertical take - off and landing aircraft) is regarded as one of the most certain sub - tracks in the low - altitude economy. In October 2023, EHang's EH216 - S unmanned passenger eVTOL obtained the type certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, becoming the world's first product to receive this certification. Subsequently, it successively obtained the production license and the standard airworthiness certificate, and on March 28, 2025, it obtained the operation certificate, becoming the first eVTOL enterprise in China to achieve licensed operation.
The market generally believes that 2025 is the critical point for eVTOL to move from technical verification to large - scale application, and orders have been released intensively.
The overseas market heated up first. In October 2025, XPeng HT signed the first batch of 600 flying car orders in the Middle East, setting the largest - scale overseas procurement record in this field. Fengfei Aviation and Shide Technology also successively announced that they had obtained orders from Middle Eastern customers. Domestic demand was also launched simultaneously. Wallant Aviation and EHang respectively won aircraft purchase agreements from Guizhou, Beijing and other places.
At the International Low - Altitude Economy Expo, Shide Technology obtained the largest single eVTOL intention purchase in China: the UAE enterprise Autocraft placed an order for 350 aircraft, with a total amount of up to 1 billion US dollars. Subsequently, Wallant Aviation signed a purchase agreement for 500 VE25 - 100 "Tianxing" eVTOLs with Thailand's Pan - Pacific Company, with a total order amount of up to 1.75 billion US dollars.
November 2025 was even called the "order carnival month" in the industry: Volantour signed 50 confirmed orders with Hualong Aviation; Wallant won a large order of 95 aircraft with a total amount of 2.375 billion yuan at the China International Import Expo; Fengfei Aviation's cumulative orders exceeded 2000 aircraft; Shide Technology also finalized a purchase agreement for 100 aircraft with ICBC Financial Leasing. In 2026, the order boom continued - the relevant project results of the "2030 Pioneer Project" disclosed on January 28 had obtained 160 confirmed and intended orders.
However, the impressive figures have also been questioned due to "water content". Some industry insiders pointed out that more than 90% of the current eVTOL orders are intended orders, most of which are not legally binding and do not require a deposit, being more like a strategic statement. This "order inflation" is not uncommon in the early stage of emerging industries: manufacturers need orders to support their valuations and financing, while purchasers lock in production capacity in advance to seize future market entry points.
The booming order side is in sharp contrast to the financial pressure on enterprises. EHang, regarded as a "leading player" in the low - altitude economy, had a net loss of 82.11 million yuan in the third quarter of 2025, a year - on - year increase of 70.7%, and the cumulative loss in the first three quarters reached 242 million yuan. Under this strong contrast, the core contradiction in the industry gradually emerged - the technical feasibility is being continuously verified, but the commercial feasibility still needs time to polish.
Listed Companies Accelerate Layout
According to the prediction of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the scale of the low - altitude economy market in China will reach 1.5 trillion yuan in 2025 and is expected to exceed 3.5 trillion yuan in 2035.
It's not just start - up companies that are entering the market. Judging from the disclosed performance bulletins and the median values of performance forecasts for 2025, many listed companies related to the low - altitude economy are expected to achieve profitability. Loncin Motor, Wanfeng Auto Holding, Zongshen Power, and Changyuan Donggu rank among the top in terms of net profit, reaching 1.725 billion yuan, 950 million yuan, 692 million yuan, and 400 million yuan respectively; the net profits of AVIC Aero - Engine Control Co., Ltd. and Shangluo Electronics Co., Ltd. are also both over 300 million yuan.
Facing the potential trillion - level market space, listed companies are cutting in from different links of the industrial chain and accelerating their strategic positioning. Recently, many enterprises have actively laid out this emerging track by introducing strategic investors, increasing R & D investment, and establishing research institutions, trying to complete capacity reserves before the industry explodes.
Fulin Precision Industry Co., Ltd. recently announced that it plans to introduce CATL as a strategic investor by issuing shares to specific investors, raising a total of 3.175 billion yuan. After deducting the issuance expenses, the funds will be invested in multiple directions, including a project with an annual output of 500,000 tons of high - end lithium iron phosphate for energy storage, key components of new energy vehicle electric drive systems, integrated electric joints for robots, intelligent chassis by - wire systems, and key components of low - altitude aircraft power systems. It is not difficult to see from the fund investment that the company is extending to the upstream of the low - altitude industrial chain by focusing on power and core components.
Shenzhen Urban Transport Planning Center Co., Ltd. plans to raise no more than 1.8 billion yuan through a private placement. The raised funds will be used for the R & D of large models and ecological applications in the transportation industry, the large - scale application of embodied intelligent transportation equipment such as low - altitude and autonomous driving, global business expansion, and replenishing working capital. Relying on its accumulation in the field of intelligent transportation, the company is trying to transfer its technological advantages to the "air - ground integrated" comprehensive transportation system.
Meanwhile, Unigroup Guowei Technologies Co., Ltd. announced the establishment of a central research institute, focusing on research on new architectures, new models, and efficient algorithms for end - side AI chips for application scenarios such as autonomous driving, embodied robots, and low - altitude aircraft, to further strengthen its forward - looking technology layout and industrial chain synergy capabilities. The early investment in the chip level is also regarded as a key step in competing for the "computing power base" of future air transportation.
From the whole - machine manufacturing to core components, and then to computing power and intelligent systems, listed companies are accelerating their penetration into the entire low - altitude economy industrial chain. As capital, technology, and industrial resources continue to converge, the competition in this track is no longer limited to the conceptual level but is gradually shifting to a competition of systematic capabilities.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Dongshisi Tiao Capital" (ID: DsstCapital), author: Wei Xianghui, published by 36Kr with authorization.