CHINA ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY INDEX

China represents one of the most dynamic and complex Advanced Air Mobility markets in the world. Dozens of domestic OEMs, technology providers, and system integrators are actively developing eVTOL and advanced rotorcraft platforms, supported by a mix of private capital, state-backed investment, automotive groups, and aerospace incumbents. At the same time, the pace of announcements, demonstrations, and policy signals can make it difficult to separate momentum from maturity. With so many players and a uniquely structured regulatory and industrial environment, how can observers clearly understand which Chinese AAM companies are positioned to reach certification, industrialization, and commercial deployment—and which ones are still at an early or speculative stage?

The China AAM Reality Index is a region-specific extension of the AAM Reality Index, designed to assess the progress of Chinese AAM OEMs using a consistent, data-driven methodology adapted to local market realities. The China ARI is based on publicly available information, industry disclosures, and expert analysis of the Chinese aerospace and mobility ecosystem. It is updated periodically to reflect new entrants, program milestones, and regulatory developments. The tool is un-biased and analytical in nature; it does not serve as an endorsement or criticism of any company, but as a practical guide to understanding relative maturity within China’s AAM landscape.

The China ARI uses the same five foundational elements as the global ARI: funding secured, leadership and organizational capability, technology readiness of the aircraft, certification progress with relevant authorities, and readiness for scaled production. These elements are evaluated with consideration for China-specific factors, including regulatory pathways, manufacturing ecosystems, and go-to-market strategies. The objective is to measure progress toward a certified, industrialized product rather than conceptual designs or isolated flight demonstrations.

Each company is scored on a 0 to 10 scale, with one decimal point used to distinguish entrants that cluster around similar development stages. A score near 0 represents an early-stage company with limited funding and minimal demonstrated progress. A score of 10 represents a company producing certified aircraft at large commercial scale. As with the global index, no Chinese AAM OEM currently achieves a 10, as producing thousands of units per year remains an industry-wide challenge. The China ARI should be read as a snapshot in time, reflecting progress, and not just potential, within China’s rapidly evolving AAM market.

The China ARI describes the likelihood of an OEM certifying their aircraft, entering service and producing it in thousand of units per year.

The China ARI does not rate which OEM is first in the progress to first flight, EIS or certification. 

 The China ARI includes OEMs developing eVTOL and eSTOL manned/autonomous passenger (2 or more seats) aircraft, manned cargo aircraft, and eCTOL passenger (6 or more seats) aircraft for China’s market.  

The field with the arrows shows the rating change for each listed OEM since the last release of the China ARI:

• Up arrow (↑): China ARI rating increased
• Down arrow (↓): China ARI rating decreased
• Sideways arrow (↔︎): China no ARI rating change
• New: OEM added in the current China ARI release 

The field reports the up-to-date cash funding in millions of USD received by the OEMs at the time of the index release publication. "Corporate backed" indicates internal funding. The same information is also available in graphical form in the CHINA AAM FUNDING infographic.

The use case represents the mission the OEM foresees for the vehicles they are developing.

The field describes what type of  configuration the vehicle or vehicles adopt.

It details the vehicles the OEM is developing.

The first flight field reports the year in which the latest vehicle version has first flown. The EIS field reports the OEM announced entry into service year.

The China ARI is updated on a regular basis. We document the changes in blog posts that detail the updates. We also notify the industry through LinkedIn and Twitter. We advise our visitors to bookmark this page.

To make it easy to identify the AAM vehicles in the hero image, we have added an interactive image below. Hover over or touch the vehicle of interest to learn about the OEM, the aircraft name and dimensions (the dimensions in cruise flight are estimated in meters (m), starting from the publicly available data, unless provided by the OEM).

All hero images on the website have been commissioned to talented aviation illustrations’ artist Marc Philipp Veenendaal (Instagram @marc_mpv).