In China, the world’s largest 10-seat flying taxi was successfully tested.

A test flight of the world’s largest eVTOL taxi, the V5000 Sky Dragon/Matrix — which can carry 10 passengers at once — marked a breakthrough for electric aircraft.
Testing of the five-ton electric aircraft took place at the Kunshan civil drone flight test base in Jiangsu province. During the trial, the V5000 took off in VTOL mode, switched to horizontal flight, then returned to vertical mode for a safe landing.
VTOL aircraft can land on helipads or other small sites without needing extra infrastructure like runways.
Engineers at Fengfei Aviation Technology and its international brand AutoFlight built a fully electric version with a 250-kilometer range and a hybrid version that can fly up to 1,500 kilometers.

The V5000 will be produced in two variants — passenger and cargo. The passenger version will carry up to 10 people at once, while the cargo version can handle about one ton of freight.
The design has a 20-meter wingspan and uses a distributed propulsion system with 20 lift engines. Live Science reported that the large number of engines provides redundancy if any single engine fails.
Several companies are exploring eVTOLs for commercial air taxi service. For example, Joby Aviation signed a six-year exclusive deal to operate air taxis in Dubai. And EHang’s autonomous EH216-S has been approved for low-altitude sightseeing flights.
But while those models are mostly built for short urban hops carrying four to six passengers and tend to be relatively light, the V5000 shows potential for longer-range trips transporting 10 people or substantial cargo.
Certification timelines for the V5000 Sky Dragon/Matrix have not been announced publicly yet. But the innovative vehicle has already attracted many potential buyers.