An advanced purchase deal of more than 165 units of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) worth more than 3.5 billion yuan ($488 million) was inked between Shanghai-based company Volant Aerotech and general aviation operators on Wednesday at the ongoing 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE).

According to Volant Aerotech, the manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft, the new orders are placed by companies including China Southern Airlines General Aviation Co Ltd, Deer Jet Co Ltd and China General Aviation. To date, Volant Aerotech has received intent purchase orders of more than 860 of the same eVTOL model with a combined order value of 22 billion yuan.

The eVTOLs are projected to be applied in a variety of scenarios of low-altitude sightseeing, training, short-distance transportation, cargo transportation, emergency rescue and urban travel.

"In the past three years, Volant Aerotech has made successful debut flights of its eVTOL and submitted its first manned eVTOL project to the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) East China Regional Administration. The company is looking to make further progress in receiving airworthiness certificates, building production line and realizing commercial applications to explore the bright future of eVTOL," said Dong Ming, founder and CEO of Volant Aerotech.