Gasgoo Munich — The " Low-Altitude Economy Ecology Special Session" at the 2026 TEDA Automotive Forum kicked off on September 18 as scheduled. Ren Shuojin, director of new project promotion at CATARC Automotive Testing Center (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., delivered a keynote analyzing the differences and similarities between the automotive and low-altitude sectors across regulation, testing, and collaboration. He proposed a viable path: leveraging the auto industry's mature systems to accelerate the rollout of the low-altitude economy.
Ren noted that the product lineup for the low-altitude economy is steadily maturing, with flying cars and consumer drones gradually finding real-world applications. As competition in the auto sector intensifies, major automakers like Changan, GAC, Chery, and FAW are entering the amphibious flying car space to seek a second growth curve. This move underscores the strong foundation and potential for deep integration between the automotive and low-altitude industries.
Image Source: 2026 Teda Forum
He focused on contrasting the regulatory and technological landscapes of the two sectors. On regulation, the auto industry operates under multi-ministry coordination with a mature market access system and rapid product iteration. By contrast, airworthiness certification for low-altitude aircraft is centralized within the civil aviation system. It requires full authority involvement throughout a longer cycle, adopting a "design approval first, production later" model — a logic starkly different from the auto industry's "access first, production later" approach. Regarding testing standards, automakers focus on vehicle-level safety assessments, while low-altitude aircraft require full-hierarchy safety validation spanning materials, components, and the entire aircraft. They must also pass tests for extreme environments like high altitude, low temperatures, icing, and sand or mold, making their standards even more stringent.
At the same time, the two industries share deep commonalities. Ren pointed out that 70% of parts overlap between automobiles and low-altitude aircraft. Technologies in electrification, intelligence, and lightweighting can be cross-applied, and infrastructure for charging, communications, and regulation can be shared to build a three-dimensional transportation system through air-ground coordination.
To drive industrial implementation, he proposed four collaborative measures: forming a low-altitude equipment testing alliance, introducing the auto industry's proven testing systems to the low-altitude sector, establishing public service and pilot-scale platforms, and leveraging auto manufacturing scale to accelerate mass production of aircraft. Additionally, CATARC has established low-altitude testing capabilities. Relying on its own proving grounds, exclusive airspace, and comprehensive equipment, it covers over 90% of national standard test items and has already provided technical testing services for numerous low-altitude companies, helping the industry move toward standardization and large-scale development.
