Earnings Labs

EHang Holdings Limited (EH)

Q4 2025 Earnings Call· Thu, Mar 12, 2026

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the EHang Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year of 2025 Earnings Conference Call. Please note that the management's prepared remarks and the subsequent Q&A session will primarily be conducted in Chinese, and the corresponding simultaneous or consecutive interpretation can be accessed on the English line. As a reminder, all translations are for convenient purposes only. In case of any discrepancy, the management's statements in the original language will prevail. To listen to the original remarks by the management, please join the Chinese line. Additionally, both the Chinese and English lines are open for questions. And today's call is being recorded. Now I will turn the call over to Anne Ji, EHang's Senior Director of Investor Relations. Ms. Anne, please proceed.

Anne Ji

Management

[Interpreted] Hello, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on today's conference call to discuss the company's financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year of 2025. The earnings release is available on the company's IR website. Please note the conference call is being recorded, and the audio replay will be posted on the company's IR website. On the call today, we have Mr. Huazhi Hu, our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Shuai Feng, Chief Technology Officer; Mr. Zhao Wang, Chief Operating Officer; and Mr. Conor Yang, Chief Financial Officer. Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. As such, the company's actual results may be materially different from the expectations expressed today. Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in the company's public filings with the SEC. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable law. Also, please note that all numbers presented are in RMB and are for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year of 2025, unless stated otherwise. With that, let me now turn the call over to our CEO, Mr. Huazhi Hu. Please go ahead, Mr. Hu.

Huazhi Hu

Management

[Interpreted] Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining our call today. 2025 was a pivotal year for EHang as we strengthened our business foundation and made a meaningful progress towards commercialization. In Q4, we delivered a strong set of results. Quarterly eVTOL sales volume reached 100 units for the first time. Revenues grew significantly both year-over-year and sequentially, and we achieved our first ever quarterly GAAP profitability. For the full year, we delivered 221 units of eVTOL aircraft, setting a new record and successfully meeting our annual revenue guidance. We also achieved non-GAAP profitability for the second consecutive year. These results reflect years of sustained investment and disciplined execution across product innovation, regulatory certification, industrial ecosystem development and market expansion, laying a solid foundation for our commercialization progress in 2026. I am pleased to announce that the commercial operation of our flagship product, the EH216-S is entering the final count down. Following comprehensive preparation across our commercial operation system, we're about to officially open our commercial flight services to the public. After nearly a year of internal trial operations, we have established standardized procedures across the entire operational chain from route planning and fleet management to boarding services. At the same time, we have optimized our maintenance systems and safety assurance mechanisms while actively supporting the Civil Aviation Administration of China in advancing the training and certification program for our ground operating crew. Our 2 OC certified operators, EHang General Aviation and Heyi Aviation both plan to begin offering ticketed EH216-S flight services to the public this month and their operational sites in EHang Future City, our new headquarters in Guangzhou and Luogang Park in Hefei. This launch is expected to mark the world's first commercial service of pilotless human-carrying eVTOL aircraft. It also represents the completion of EHang's full…

Shuai Feng

Management

[Interpreted] Thank you, Mr. Hu. Hello, everyone. I'm Feng Shuai, CTO of EHang. It is a great honor to join today's earnings call for the first time. I am pleased to share our progress in 4 key areas during the fourth quarter. R&D, production and manufacturing, quality management and supply chain assurance, which we refer to as the RPQS Center. We'll also briefly outline our priorities for 2026. The RPQS Center is the core engine of our technology and industrial execution. We focus on technology innovation as the foundation, production capacity as the driver, quality control as the bottom line and supply chain as the cornerstone. Together, these capabilities support the development, commercialization and scale delivery of our products. Let me walk through the key highlights in each area. Starting with R&D. The fourth quarter of 2025 marked a major breakthroughs across our core product. Our flagship passenger carrying aircraft, VT35 completed multiple critical tests, including multicopter protected transition flights and locked-to-prop fixed wing flights. The aircraft also successfully completed its first public demonstration flight in Hefei after its grand debut in October. During the quarter, we held the first type certification team meeting with the CAAC, marking a key step forward in the airworthiness certification progress. We are currently conducting flight envelope testing and aim to obtain the type certification in China within the next 2 years. For the nonpassenger business, we are also developing and deploying product and system lines under multiple application scenarios. Our new GD4.0 formation drones set a Guinness World Record with 22,580 units flying simultaneously at the China Spring Festival Gala, significantly announcing our brand visibility and generating strong demand for both drone products and performance services. In the firefighting aircraft program, we are upgrading the current models while advancing the next-generation R&D to…

Zhao Wang

Management

[Interpreted] Thank you, Mr. Hu and Mr. Feng. In 2025, we advanced our business across 3 key priorities: safety, operations and commercialization. For the full year, we generated RMB 509 million in revenues and delivered 221 units of eVTOL aircraft, including 215 units of EH216 series and 6 units of VT35 series. Our Q4 performance reached a new high. We delivered 95 units of EH216 series and 5 units of VT35 series, generating RMB 240 million in revenues. In China, we continue to deepen our presence in key cities and build flagship partnerships. In Hefei, our collaboration with the local government expanded from a single product to a full product portfolio. The corporation now covers multiple applications, including the EH216 series human-carrying and firefighting versions, the 5 VT35 the GD4.0 formation drone. We also continue to strengthen our partnership with Anshun in Guizhou Province and Guizhou Tourism Group. In Q4, 30 units of EH216-S were delivered to the local market, bringing total deliveries to 50 units to this customer, supporting the development of a local low attitude economy applications. Building operational capability has been a major strategic focus throughout the year after EHang General Aviation and Heyi Aviation obtained their operator certificate in March 2025, we began to conduct extensive internal testing and operational optimization across the entire service process, from ticket booking and on-site verification to boarding and flight operations to ensure a seamless user experience. At the same time, we have established a comprehensive set of standard operating procedures covering battery charging, maintenance and fault troubleshooting to ensure the continued airworthiness and operational stability of the fleet. Based on the safety and operational experience we have accumulated, we plan to officially launch commercial operations with the EH216-S in this month. EHang General Aviation and Heyi Aviation will begin…

Chia-Hung Yang

Management

[Interpreted] Hello, everyone. Before I go into the details, please note that all numbers presented are in RMB unless otherwise stated. A detailed analysis is available in our earnings press release on the IR site. Now I will present some key financial data. In Q4 2025, the revenues were RMB 243.8 million, up 48.4% year-over-year and 163.6% sequentially. The quarterly increase was primarily driven by higher sales volume of our products, including 95 units of the EH216 series and 5 units of VT35 delivered this quarter. For the full year, the total eVTOL deliveries reached 221 units and revenues totaled RMB 509.5 million, representing 11.7% increase year-over-year, surpassing our annual guidance. This growth reflects the sustained market demand for our products as well as our effective execution and delivery management, customer support and commercial operation readiness. Gross margin in Q4 was 62.1%, improving from 60.7% in Q4 of 2024 and 60.8% in Q3 of 2025. For the full year of 2025, gross margin was 62%, improving from 61.4% in 2024. As production scale expanded, overall cost efficiency continued to improve. Overall, the company maintained a gross margin above 60%, reflecting our strong product competitiveness, scaling production capability and display cost management in the eVTOL sector. Turning to operating expenses. In Q4, adjusted operating expenses, defined as operating expenses excluding share-based compensation, were RMB 99.3 million, representing a 26% year-over-year increase from RMB 78.8 million in Q4 2024 and an 11.4% increase from RMB 89.1 million in Q3 2025. For 2025, adjusted operating expenses were RMB 348.9 million, representing a 20% increase from [ RMB 290.1 million ] in 2024. The increase in operating expenses was primarily driven by the continued R&D innovation, expansion of our product sales and the company's commercialization efforts. As we scale our business, we have strategically…

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from [ Peggy Wang with MS. ]

Unknown Analyst

Analyst

This is [ Peggy ] from Morgan Stanley. Congratulations on good first quarter results. So I have 2 questions today. First, it's about the license for ground operating crew since we now expect to begin commercial operation in China soon. So could, management team, could you share some more color on the progress of getting those required license for the crew team? And the second one is about the projects in Thailand. Since we are also close to obtaining license for commercial operation, what is the expected timing of revenue contribution? And how will the volume ramp up going forward? So these are my questions.

Unknown Executive

Analyst

[Interpreted] This is Wang Zhao. I will take your first question. As mentioned previously, we are still moving forward with the operator training program. All training materials have been submitted to the CAAC for approval, and several courses have already been authorized. We expect the first class for operators to begin in the first half of the year. The good news is that to encourage qualified operators to conduct early commercial operations, the authorities have expanded the number of specially authorized operators for EHang. In the short term, we can conduct commercial operations through these operators. In the long term, we will replenish our talent pool through the operator training program. Thank you.

Chia-Hung Yang

Management

[Interpreted] This is Conor. I will take your second question. Ever since last October, we have been conducting extensive test flights and trial operations in Thailand. The Civil Aviation Authorities of China and Thailand have communicated thoroughly and they have reached a consensus on mutual airworthiness recognition. This work is now nearing completion. We expected to obtain the first overseas commercial operation license for the EH216-S pilotless eVTOL aircraft following final approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. So this would mean that we would truly achieve a normalized urban air mobility services. With the specific to the commercial operations side, they are still under planning. So it will be through the Sandbox initiative. So once obtaining the Sandbox commercial operation permit, the local customers will start to move forward with the purchase orders and deliveries. So we are expecting that to start in Q2. If the progress goes smoothly, there could be dozens of units for the full year of 2026. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Wei Shen with UBS.

Wei Shen

Analyst · UBS.

[Interpreted] this is Wei Shen from UBS. Congratulations on strong results. So I've got two questions. One is on the current policy changes in the domestic low attitude industries because we saw more [ colors ] mentioning about this industrial sector in the 2 sessions meetings. And my second question is on the overseas market sales guidance, whether management could share any?

Zhao Wang

Management

This is an Wang Zhao. I'll take your first question. Generally, we believe the overall macro environment in 2026 will be better than in 2025. As you know, the 15th 5-year plan has lifted the low altitude economy to an emerging pillar industry or strategic pillar industry, and the level of -- or intensity of resource allocation and policy support for this industry will be greatly enhanced in the future. And also the development of the low altitude economy was included in the newly issued civil aviation law, which will take effect this July. So this means the industry is entering a new stage where it's going to be ruled by law, governed by law and regulations and standard systems at all levels will be gradually established. This is a necessary path for the new aviation industry. For EHang, we are at the forefront of this industry, and we are contributing first-hand experience to the standard construction. And also, we expected the overall market environment to improve.

Chia-Hung Yang

Management

This is Conor. I'll take your second question. On the overseas revenue, so the overall revenue guidance for 2026 is RMB 600 million. The overseas revenue in 2025 was in low single digit as a percentage. Looking ahead to this year, as the overseas commercial operations take place in countries like Thailand, the overseas revenue is expected to increase significantly compared to last year. If things progress well, we may expect to see the revenue contribution move into the double digit as a percentage of the overall revenue.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Laura Li with Deutsche Bank.

Xinran Li

Analyst · Deutsche Bank.

So I want to ask about the [ RMB 600 million ] revenue guidance. So what are the assumptions underpinning that? Could you talk about diversifying the revenue through different models or the service revenue versus aircraft delivery or the OEM model versus operator model or the overseas market. So how do you see this play out during this and next year?

Unknown Executive

Analyst · Deutsche Bank.

So Laura Li, right?

Xinran Li

Analyst · Deutsche Bank.

Yes.

Unknown Executive

Analyst · Deutsche Bank.

[Foreign Language].

Operator

Operator

This is the conference operator. We have temporarily lost connection with the speaker line. Please continue to hold, the conference will recommence shortly. [Technical Difficulty]

Zhao Wang

Management

[Interpreted] This is Wang Zhao. I'll take your question. Well, in addition to the human-carrying eVTOL business, we will proactively develop the nonpassenger segment this year such as emergency firefighting, logistics, GD4.0 drone formations and command and dispatch systems. You can see that actually, we delivered 8 firefighting aircraft in December 2025. Meanwhile, during the Chinese Spring Festival Gala, our formation performance of 22,580 drugs earned EHang a new Guinness World Record and attracted significant attention. This, like I said, attracted significant attention for EHang, leading to a surge in inquiries for this business. These are all achievements from our diversified aircraft models and nonpassenger business. With our opening of commercial operations and ticket sales to the public in March, EHang General Aviation will generate some operational service revenue. But of course, the initial contribution to the overall revenue won't be large. But nevertheless, this is a good start. Thank you.

Operator

Operator

Our next question comes from Fuyin Liang with Bank of America.

Fuyin Liang

Analyst · Bank of America.

I have two questions for the management. The first one is about our commercial operation plan in this month in China. So initially, how do we expect the fleet size of our commercial operation in the 2 cities in China? And given the current fair price, how do we think about the unit economy model? And what's the profit margin of this operation?

Unknown Executive

Analyst · Bank of America.

[Interpreted] So initially, there will be around 6 to 10 aircraft, and we will gradually increase the number of eVTOL to be used for the commercial operations. And the early bird ticket price for each passenger is set at RMB 299 per person, which will basically cover the flight costs. With the specific data, I think we'll have to give it a period of time before we can disclose further details to the public.

Fuyin Liang

Analyst · Bank of America.

My second question is about our cost control. EHang had a very good OpEx control in the last quarter in 2025. So what's the reason behind that? Looking at 2026, how do we expect the OpEx and also the OpEx to sales ratio?

Chia-Hung Yang

Management

[Interpreted] This is Conor. I'll take your second question. Yes, you're right. Overall, the [ SBC ] expenses in 2025 were lower in that of 2024. So that resulted in a smaller-than-expected increase in OpEx. Looking ahead to 2026, the year-over-year growth rate for OpEx is expected to be lower than our revenue growth rate. So we are setting our revenue growth year-over-year at [ 18, ] -- from [ 18 ] and our OpEx is going to be definitely lower than that.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Alan Lau with Jefferies.

Alan Lau

Analyst · Jefferies.

Congratulations for the company for the strong results in 4Q and also achieving commercial operation in March. So my first question is regarding to the strong delivery in fourth quarter. So we saw the company deliver units on a single quarter. So I would like to know who are the major clients contributing to such strong delivery? And do you expect further orders from the same clients?

Zhao Wang

Management

[Interpreted] This is Wang Zhao. The growth in the Q4 deliveries was primarily the result of the year long marketing efforts in 2025. Many of them were not new Q4 customers. But actually, customers who we have been discussing specific operational plans and scenarios over the previous quarters with. And that finally result in the deliveries. And like I said, so the engagement with these clients finally lead to the deliveries in Q4. Some of them were repeat customers. And the key contributions come from clients from Hefei, Wencheng, Xiamen, Guizhou, Sichuan and Guangzhou, and we expect some repeat orders or purchases from repeat customers as well in the future.

Alan Lau

Analyst · Jefferies.

That's very clear. And then my second question is regarding to the commercial operation in March. So I would like to know some specifics. Firstly, do you have an exact date on when the app will be launched or the public can book their flights in the program? And then is it [ point A to point A ] flight and each time, it's 1 or 2 persons?

Unknown Executive

Analyst · Jefferies.

[Interpreted] Yes, our commercial operations will be launched in March. We haven't yet disclosed the exact date as we are still fine-tuning the booking platform, the mini program. But operational readiness wise, we are ready. And as for the route, it is -- the flight is for tourism purposes, and it's from point A to point B, carrying 1 passenger. We believe this is enough to fulfill the needs of the customer.

Operator

Operator

Your next question comes from Chen Yu with GUANGFA Securities.

Unknown Analyst

Analyst · GUANGFA Securities.

[Interpreted] So my question is on the OC application for the existing customers or clients. So what is the company doing on the company side? And what initiatives or efforts is the company putting in to facilitate the OC application? Are there any time lines that can be shared on the OC application for these existing clients? And my second question, I'm not sure whether any other analysts have already asked the same question. Are there any updates on the QC or airworthiness application for VT35? What's the current plan? Are there any adjustments, changes or updates on that?

Zhao Wang

Management

[Interpreted] This is Wang Zhao. I'll take your first question. There will be 2, so 2 customers that have obtained the OC and their commercial operation will start to accumulate very valuable experience and become a demo of project for the rest of their clients. And we expect the training for the ground crew to begin in the first half of the year. So this will start to build the solid foundation for the expertise that's needed to conduct the commercial operation. And this would also increase the talent pool required to support the commercial operations of other clients. And particularly, our client from Guizhou has already submitted their materials for the OC. And furthermore, the policy environment is much more favorable compared to that in 2025. And we have done a lot of work, and we are ready. So we believe as we make more progress on these applications, there will be more customers that can apply and obtain their OCs in this upcoming year.

Shuai Feng

Management

[Interpreted] This is Feng Shuai. I will take your second question on VT35 certification progress. In Q4, our VT35 completed key tests, including multi-rotor protective transition and shut down and locked propeller fixed-wing flights. Additionally, we've also held a first TCT meeting for airworthiness review. And we are currently conducting flight envelope tests. We are aiming to obtain the type certification in China within 2 years.

Operator

Operator

Thank you all. Given that time is limited, let me turn the call back to Ms. Anne for closing remarks.

Anne Ji

Management

[Foreign Language] [Portions of this transcript that are marked [Interpreted] were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.