More than 300 exhibitors are putting electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft on display at the 2026 Future Air Traffic and eVTOL Aircraft Innovation Conference, which opened in Shenzhen City of south China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday, as the sector moves from demonstration flights toward everyday use.
At this year's two-day event, the eVTOL aircraft on show covered a wide range of application scenarios, including single-person commuting, multi-passenger transport, heavy-lift logistics and dual-mode land-air operations. Manufacturers also highlighted upgraded power systems and aerodynamic designs that improve flight endurance and safety.
Beyond the aircraft, the exhibition is presenting a heavy focus on the foundational technologies driving the sector, particularly power and flight control systems. Companies are presenting breakthroughs across the upstream supply chain of the low-altitude economy, which spans activity below 1,000 meters, including electric drive systems, aviation energy storage and advanced structural materials.
Among the exhibits is an emergency locator transmitter developed by Chinese avionics company Loongrise Avionics, designed to help rescuers quickly locate an aircraft after an accident.
"It's used on aircraft. Whether it's a large aircraft or a low-altitude vehicle, once it is in an accident, [the locator transmitter] can pinpoint the aircraft's latitude and longitude, greatly improving aerial search-and-rescue efficiency," said Zeng Zhaopeng, vice president of the Loongrise Avionics company The conference has also brought representatives from the research side of the sector together, with platforms including the Harbin Institute of Technology and the Shenzhen Research Institute of Beihang University, two of China's leading institutions in aerospace and engineering, showcasing their work to foster deeper industry-academia-research integration and accelerate technology upgrades, commercialization and cluster development in the low-altitude sector.
Yuan Yixiao, deputy chairman of the Guangdong Aeronautics and Astronautics Society, said Shenzhen's advantage comes from both its consumers and its drone industry.
"Shenzhen's application scenarios and consumer habits are more welcoming to new forms of consumption. The existing drone industrial chain of Shenzhen itself can also effectively support the demands for the scenarios' application," he said.
Latest air mobility technologies on show at Shenzhen conference
