EHang Holdings Limited (EH) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary
August 25, 2020
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Operator
operatorGood day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by, and welcome to EHang Second Quarter 2020 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, we are recording today's call. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. Now I'll turn the call over to Julia Qian, Managing Director of The Blueshirt Group Asia. Ms. Qian, please proceed.
Linlin Qian
attendeeHello, everyone. Thank you all for joining us on today's conference call to discuss the company's financial results for the second quarter of 2020. We released the results early today. The press release is available on the company's website as well as from Newswire services. On the call with me today are Mr. Huazhi Hu, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Edward Xu, Chief Strategy Officer; and Mr. Richard Liu, Chief Financial Officer. Before we continue, please note that today's discussion will contain forward-looking statements made under safe harbor provision of the U.S. Private Security 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 filing with SEC. The company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. Also please note that unless otherwise state, all the figures mentioned during the conference call are in Chinese RMB. With that, let me now turn the call over to Mr. Huazhi Hu, our CEO. Mr. Hu will speak in Chinese, then our CSO, Edward, will translate his comments into English. Please go ahead, Mr. Hu.
Huazhi Hu
executive[Foreign Language]
Huaxiang Xu
executiveThank you, Mr. Hu, and hello, everyone. My name is Edward, CSO of EHang. Let me first translate what Mr. Hu said in his opening remarks, and then I will talk about our key business strategies going forward. [Interpreted] Thank you, Julia. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the call today. It's widely known recently the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitics have brought huge impact on the global economy. But our business continued a stable growth in the second quarter of this year. I would like to express my gratitude to my team for their endeavors. Our total revenues were CNY 35.7 million, an increase of 62.7% year-on-year. Gross profit was CNY 20.6 million, an increase of 60% year-on-year. It is worth mentioning that under this environment, sales volumes of EHang 216 exceeded the level of the same period of 2019. As the world's only AAV company that has achieved commercial deliveries, technology is our core competency. Relying on the EHang 216 platform, we have rapidly developed the customized solutions for aerial rescue and firefighting, solving the problems of high-rise firefighting by fulfilling the gap of aero firefighting. We have not only completed the development of the new model quickly, but also roll out it to the market rapidly. We have also made several remarkable regulatory breakthroughs in China and Canada. We obtained the world's first commercial pilot operational approval for passenger-grade AAVs for air logistics in China as well as special flight operation certificate from the Transport Canada Civil Aviation. Finally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we reevaluated our global marketing strategy in order to minimize the geopolitical risks and to further enhance marketing opportunities. Notably, Europe is our most important region after Asia, and so was the focus of changes. We established a new regionalized marketing management team, deploying local talents to accelerate the market development. Going forward, we will put more efforts in the Chinese market and also enhance business developments in the European markets. We remain confident but cautious about the COVID-19 situation globally. We expect to roll out more new products, including the one with a flight range of over 100 kilometers, opening up more market opportunities. We believe 200% of revenue growth is achievable as our continuous efforts in innovation lead to stronger development. So those were Mr. Hu's remarks, now let me cover some of our business achievements in this quarter. As Mr. Hu just mentioned, we made a number of breakthroughs on the regulatory front, which is a key for progress in the AAV industry. We were the first company approved to use passenger-grade AAVs for air logistics. With this approval, we will start a trial air logistics operation using the EHang 216. We will do commercial pilot operations in the category of 150 kilograms plus heavy-lift cargo transport between ground and hilltop. And between shore and islands at the customer site in Taizhou. This approval was based upon a pioneering regulation for specific unmanned aircraft under the globally recognized Specific Operation Risk Assessment or SORA framework of the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking of Unmanned Systems or JARUS. Starting from this air logistics trial in Taizhou, we intend to gradually expand this application to more locations in China. This is an important milestone for EHang as it enables us to accelerate the commercialization of AAV technology and Air Mobility solutions. We believe this will benefit the long-term development of UAM applications. Another exciting regulatory breakthrough was EHang 216 obtained a special flight operation certificate issued by Transport Canada Civil Aviation. Notably, this permit was the first of its kind permit for the periodic operations of passenger-grade AAVs in North America. This fully demonstrates our leading position in the global AAV market. It is a positive signal from global regulators to establish a supportive and a sustainable regulatory environment for the UAM industry. In smart city management, EHang completed the deployment of a command/control center in the city of Hezhou in China. This center was the third of its kind after those in the cities of Shaoguan and Lianyungang. This deployment demonstrates our ability to build this type of a sophisticated centralized command/control system designed specifically for Urban Air Mobility uses. More importantly, it also shows our strong commitment to further expand and scale our business. To demonstrate our AAV technologies used in smart city management, in April 2020 we participated in the flood emergency response exercise organized by the local government in Shaoguan, China. In this exercise, large-scale AAV operations were conducted efficiently and autonomously. As a supporting partner, EHang responded quickly by sending 10 remotely managed AAVs to 4 emergency sites. This exercise fully demonstrated the real application of our AAV technologies in an emergency situation. It also showed our ability to further explore new uses with efficiency and effectiveness. Moving to our business expansion. The increasing market demands and our strong commercialization ability of AAVs are driving us to expand our production and upgrade our manufacturing capabilities. With the local government support, we are going to build a new AAV production facility in Yunfu city of Guangzhou province in China. The facility will include an R&D center for air mobility solutions and a training center for operations and technical talents with its initial annual capacity of 600 units. We are excited with our facility expansion, and we expect it to further support the growth of air mobility business in China. Looking at air tourism services. In May 2020, and EHang partnered with a Shenzhen-listed tourism platform company, Lingnan Holdings, to develop the world's first UAM-themed hotel at the Lingnan Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China. A variety of air tourism service using EHang AAVs are planned for the hotel, such as aerial sightseeing, transportation, air logistics and aerial media light shows. We are excited to establish such a meaningful collaboration, which not only broadens the uses of AAVs but also develops a new commercial use case for EHang by providing customers a brand-new, interesting experience of air tourism. Finally, I would like to announce the appointment of Mr. Dongming Wu, CEO of DHL Express China, as an independent director of EHang. We are greatly honored to welcome Mr. Wu, who has over 30 years of valuable experience in the global delivery and logistics industry. We believe Mr. Wu will help our strategic development, especially in air logistics and further enhance our corporate governance. To conclude, we continue to deliver solid performance in this quarter. Despite the difficult market conditions, we are optimistic about the long-term promise of the UAM industry and we believe our first-mover advantage will enable us to drive a robust growth in the near future. Thank you.
Jian Liu
executiveThank you, Edward, and hello to everyone on the call. Before I go into details about our financial results. Please note that all numbers presented are in RMB and percentage changes referred to year-over-year comparisons, unless otherwise specified. Detailed analysis is contained in our earnings press release which is available on our IR website. I'm going to highlight some of the key points here. We achieved a significant revenue growth again this quarter, quite an achievement considering all the uncertainties and challenges. Total revenues were CNY 35.7 million, up 62.7%, growing across all revenue streams. Our core business of air mobility solutions represented 63.5% of total revenues. Sales of the EHang 216, the company flagship passenger-grade AAV, reached 16 units compared with 14 units in Q2 2019. Gross profit in Q2 was CNY 20.6 million, up 60%. We maintained a high gross margin of 57.6%, a slight 0.9 percentage points lower than that of Q2 last year. The slight margin fluctuation is mainly due to change in revenue mix. Adjusted operating expenses, excluding share-based compensation, increased by 41.9% to CNY 35.4 million. As a percentage of total revenues, it was 99.2% as compared to 113.8% in Q2 2019. The increases were mainly due to higher R&D expenses related to the continuously strengthened product development efforts and additional G&A expenses related to public company operations and provisions in light of COVID-19 involvement. As revenue continue to grow, there is operating leverage that supports our path towards operating profitability. Our adjusted operating loss in Q2 slightly decreased by 6% to CNY 11.1 million, and adjusted operating margin improved by 22.8 percentage points from negative 54% to 31.2%. The comparison of adjusted net loss is in line with that of adjusted operating loss. Looking at our balance sheet and cash flow. We ended the quarter with roughly CNY 258 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Overall, the financial results in Q2 was solid with significant revenue growth and stable, high gross margin despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Now let's turn to the outlook. We maintain our forecast of at least 200% growth in annual revenues in 2020 based on the current momentum in economic recovery and the expectation of no further major interruptions impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is confident in its long-term growth outlook given the growing number of practical uses for AAVs in the global UAM market, especially in China. With that, we conclude our prepared remarks for today. Let's now open the call for questions. Operator, please go ahead.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Tim Hsiao from MS.
Tim Hsiao
analystSo just 3 quick question. The first one, I think Mr. Liu just mentioned, we start seeing some recovery across the board. So could you probably quantify or provide some updates, has the recovery pace of the domestic market and also the overseas? And my second question is the -- more like the supply chain hiccup. Because I think during our past few calls, we mentioned during the COVID-19 pandemic, there's more like the supply chain bottleneck or disruption. So just wondering if that have go -- been back to normal? And do we need to pay additional like probably the additional upfront payment to secure the component supply? And my last question is about the new project because I think Edward just mentioned about the new collaboration project about the firefighting. And on top of the project, Edward just shared, when could we expect a more significant progress or when could you start monetizing those projects? Those are all my questions.
Huaxiang Xu
executiveOkay. Thank you, Tim. So let me answer your first question. The first question is about the recovery pace of overseas operation, right? So -- and the impact on the -- and both domestic, right? So basically, you know that this COVID-19 pandemic is quite a big surprise. And at the beginning, I think we see more impact on the domestic side, but now it's switched to the overseas market. So our focus is more on the European side, the European market. And -- but we also have some clients in North America, such as the ones in Canada and also the ones in Japan and Korea. So I'll start with the Europe first. Right now, we still see -- we are monitoring the situation. And we see still lockdowns or travel restrictions in some of the European countries. That means that there are some negative impact on the operation of the 216 in Europe, European market. But we also made some breakthroughs in the light show performance business, for example. Because for this year, we are trying to penetrate the European market with our drone light show performance business. And so right now, we are happy to see some breakthroughs with the progress going on. And also, we -- as you said -- as you're aware of the recent permit we have obtained in Canada, and also in Norway, right? So we believe that if the COVID-19 pandemic gradually disappear, we are going to see the big progress in those markets because, so far, we have obtained the operation permit, flight permit, from those authorities. So I think that's very important. Because with that permit, we are able to do more demo flights in those markets. For example, we are actually planning a number of flights in Europe in the next 30 to 40 days in Europe, such as in Linz, which is the third-largest country (sic) [ city ] in Austria. And in Rotterdam and another city in France. So we -- actually, we see those markets with good enthusiasm in our project. And also, I just want to mention that just recently, we delivered a 216 to Japan. And we are also getting a new order from Korea. I think in North Asia, those markets are new breakthroughs for us. So we are happy to see that to make new progress in those North Asia market. So overall, we think that the COVID-19 pandemic is definitely a negative for our overall market expansion. But we still see a good opportunity with good client interest in those markets. So we are hopeful that after this pandemic getting under control, we should be able to expand in those markets quickly. Thank you.
Jian Liu
executiveAnd this is Richard. I will take your second question. So basically, at this moment, we see our supply chain should be in a safe situation. Based on the experience from the early days of the pandemic, we have built up some safe level of some key components and materials. And we believe this will help us to strengthen our supply chain capability. And in addition, we also continue to enhance our relationship and working more closely with some key suppliers. And going forward, as I mentioned earlier, if there will be no major interruptions, our supply chain should be okay.
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. As regarding to the third question, it's about our new version of the firefighting AAV, which was just released at the end of July. I think that was very interesting product for this year. And actually, the release of this project is a bit delayed. It's due to this pandemic thing. But we are happy that it got finally released. And immediately after the release, actually, we got a very strong interest and -- in -- from different -- especially from the government side. So far, we have secured an order of several units to Yunfu government already. And actually, today, we are attending this emergency equipment show in Guangzhou. So we attended this show with a very good client interest as well. So we are hopeful that this can be a new driver for our sales for the next 12 month. Because why? We think that this is a very unique solution for high-rise firefighting. Because understand that the latest -- the best -- most advanced ladder, the fire engine vehicle, with a height limit of only 120 meters high. So for any skyscrapers above that level, there is no better solutions. So basically, there is nothing can reach that level. However, with our AAV, our 216 -- EHang, 216 firefighting AAV, it can fly to up to the level of 500, 600 meters high. And with this -- the bombs that can break the glass, it can release the carbon dioxide. And also, we've got a very strong extinguisher that can put out the fire. So we did a very successful exercise with the fire department in Yunfu government. So I think this got widely recognized by the government officials. So far, we are in cooperation with the Ministry of Emergency in China, [Foreign Language] and the different emergency department in different provincial governments, including Guangdong and Hainan, et cetera. So yes, we are quite optimistic about this new product. Thank you.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from the line of Vincent Yu from Needham & Company.
Shenghao Yu
analystAnd I have a few questions. The first question is about the new product categories. So as we have explored new use case, such as the firefighting and air ambulance for the 216 model and you also just mentioned that we are working with the national emergency department. What are some other use cases you think are nice fit for our model and also easy reach that -- and that we are -- that EHang is paying attention to? Second question is about the case you mentioned to work with the hotel in Lingnan. What kind of revenue or revenue-sharing model we have on that case? And third question is about our order book, is there any comments you guys can share on next year's order book as we are entering September? Or what kind of goal we have for next year, if it is available to share.
Jian Liu
executiveOkay. Vincent, this is Richard. I will take your first question. So basically, our experience is like that. Kind of after we start the commercial delivery of our EHang 216, we have customer feedbacks from different background. And all these new use cases are actually results of related customer feedback, which represents the practical needs. And interestingly, the ranges required are typically around 10 kilometers, which are nicely fitting to the current capability of EHang 216. So EHang 216 has -- had become like a product platform. And on this platform, more practical use cases can be further developed and deployed. So basically, in addition, what you have known as aerial sightseeing, aerial firefighting, there are other use cases, which some customer are in discussion with us for potential orders, such as aerial logistics, aerial emergency transport and rescue. As Edward just mentioned, there are interest from the emergency management department or ministry in China. And other potential use cases could include aerial island hopping, aerial cargo transporting in harbors and for near-shore marine platforms, such as offshore oil rigs, sea ventures, et cetera. And probably Edward can take the second question.
Huaxiang Xu
executiveOkay. Thank you. The second question regarding our cooperation with Lingnan Group, right? So understand that Lingnan Group is SOE, is a platform company of the Guangzhou government. This is a conglomerate. It is a very large group with the business segment in the tourism, in hotel, in food processing and restaurants, et cetera. So it's a very big group. It has a small branch, which is listed in Shenzhen exchange market. So basically, this is a very credible, large SOE group. And so basically, our cooperation, our partnership is based upon different aspects of our project. For example, for the 216 AAV, it's going to be the sightseeing. So we're going to provide the tourism sightseeing service in their Lingnan Garden Hotel, which is a very nice hotel situated in Nansha, in Guangzhou. So this is going to be the first model, first cooperation between our company and the Lingnan Group. So after the successful operation of this business, we are going to replicate into other luxury hotels operated by Lingnan Group. And we also are going to cooperate in the light show business. For example, we are going to provide the drone light shows for the Lingnan Group in -- to celebrate the holidays in their hotel and in their tourism spots and amusement parks, et cetera. So we -- basically, we signed a large framework agreement to provide such services. And finally, we are also talking about providing the logistics services to them because they own a large chain of this food processing and the restaurants. And so they are going to have the centralized kitchen that to send the food to different restaurants. So it's an interesting project that we may use our drones to deliver the food for them. So for such a big group, there are so many different aspects that we can cooperate on. So it's very exciting for us. So far, we are just testing the first project. And so basically, we're going to provide a service. So at this stage, we're not talking about the sale of equipment yet. We are talking about the potential service. We're going to operate the AAVs for them, and then we can get paid for the service. Thank you.
Jian Liu
executiveAnd I'm going to take your third question. So basically, we are advocating potential business leads for the increasing number of use cases. But sorry, we don't have a specific number right now to share with you. But it is expected that next year, we will continue to achieve significant growth as we are at the early stage of a huge new market and we are probably the only supplier in the market. And there are more use case opportunities to be developed.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from the line of Joseph Osha from JMP Securities.
Joseph Osha
analystI have 2 questions. First, you had talked a little bit about the longer-range, 100-kilometer device. I'm wondering if that simply requires a larger battery pack or what other innovations you might be looking at to increase the range? And secondly, I was particularly interested in the Canadian regulatory approval. I was wondering if you can discuss a little bit what that use case is if it's tourism or firefighting or something else?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveOkay. Thank you for your question. So for -- right now, I think it's particularly because we have not officially released this 100-kilometer range product yet. But since our CEO, Mr. Huazhi Hu, is so excited to talk about this and so that's why we can say that within our pipeline, we actually have a number of new things in our pipeline. But this definitely will be a very interesting one because right now, as you can see, that our 216 AAV, that can sustain at 21 minutes flight with about 35 kilometers. Some people say that this probably is not enough for some longer-range travel. So that's why it's just to trigger our interest in exploring the longer-range product. And what we can tell you that this new product is pretty much ready for release. It's already in a good shape. And it can still carry 2 passengers. It can fly a much longer range. And so we think that can be another driver for our new business in future. Thank you.
Jian Liu
executiveHi, Joe. This is Richard. I'm going to take your second question. So basically, the approval we got from the Canadian authorities, it is approval to allow our partners in Canada to conduct trial flights in a period of time, not just for one time. It's for a period of time. If this is a breakthrough on -- for the authorities in North America to issue a relevant approval or permit for this new category of aerial vehicle for a period of time. If I remember correctly, it is until next April. So from now until next April, our partners in Canada can conduct trial flight with our EHang 216s. And you probably know that partner. Just now, Edward also mentioned a little bit. It is United Therapeutics. They have a base there. And they will -- so basically, the potential use case is a typical medical emergency transport, to transport organs for transplantation.
Joseph Osha
analystThat's very interesting. May I ask a follow-up question?
Jian Liu
executiveYes. Please go ahead.
Joseph Osha
analystDo you believe that there is potential for air tourism business in the Canadian or North American market?
Jian Liu
executiveYes, of course. Because in North America, they're so -- very rich in tourism resources. There are so many beautiful scenery -- sites. Definitely. So -- but the major bottleneck or hurdle is regulatory restrictions, right? So just -- but we think we made very good progress in getting this approval by the Canadian authorities and also in January this year, we did a demo flight in North Carolina. So that was a very good milestone that we have achieved so far. So if we can get a further permit or clearance from the government, definitely, we will see a huge market potential. Because right now, we -- actually, we see a lot of clients in North America approaching us, asking us to -- how to sell our unit and launch our operation in North America. But yes, first thing is due to this pandemic thing. And the second is we are working on this permit, right? So -- but we definitely see very strong market demand and with real interest in those markets. So yes, so we remain very optimistic about those markets.
Operator
operatorOur next question comes from the line of [ Damian Donnelly ] from [ Equitas Fund ].
Unknown Analyst
analystJust 3 quick questions. I was wondering if you could add any detail on the goals of the EMS, Emergency Medical Services, growing projects that you're working on? Second question, what's the road map look like for logistics, and -- like the partnership with DHL, are there any major milestones for that in 2021? And for the 100-kilometer range drone, is there any color you can add to the -- like on the technical -- quite a technical achievement in terms of how that's being achieved? Like, what kind of batteries or how are you going from 35 kilometers to 100 kilometers? It's a pretty major milestone.
Huaxiang Xu
executiveSorry. Then let me just clarify your question. So first question is about emergency medical service, right? The data, right?
Unknown Analyst
analystYes. No, what are the goals for that? Like, are you expecting that to work with paramedics or replace ambulance? Or is it more for kind of like organ transplant or like the -- carrying logistics?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. Actually, I think -- I don't know whether you are aware of a press release we did just several days ago during the weekend. So we just got invited by the ICAO, International Organization of Aviation Authorities. (sic) [ International Civil Aviation Organization ]. So we've got invited by them to join a very interesting project of this, Ambular. Ambular project, it means that ICAO is going to design a very smart, autonomous air ambulance. So we are very privileged to be invited in -- to participate in the project by contributing our technology, our motors, engines, et cetera. So definitely, that shows the recognition of our project. And as you can see from our website, we just did some video clips on our website showing what we did during this -- China's anti-pandemic situation in earlier of this year, yes. Because our autonomous aerial vehicle, which is controlled by the computer, can land very accurately and safely on the rooftop of the hospitals. So actually, you can see from that video, and we did the transportation of the medical supplies from the ground to the hospital. And this is very safe because given that the disease can be very contagious. So with no staff within this vehicle, so it just eliminates the risk of being contacted, right? So yes, we -- actually, we have made this product in a very good shape. And so I think the ICAO's project of this Ambular just opens another door for us to expand our project in the global market. I don't know whether ...
Unknown Analyst
analystIs the goal for that project to transfer patients or like people -- like going to ER? Or is the goal not that ambitious?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveSorry. I cannot hear clearly.
Unknown Analyst
analystIs the goal for that project to transfer patients in emergency situations or is it not for paramedic?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. So our AAVs are designed for both goods and the passengers and patients. So basically, our AAV can carry passengers. And the meanwhile, if you don't carry passengers, you can also carry medical supplies or even organs as we -- as our clients are planning. It can carry -- and the blood, for example, for emergency situation. So it has very good applications in real life.
Unknown Analyst
analystThe second question was, what's the road map look like for the logistics use cases for 2021?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYou mean the -- in 2021, the -- for logistics?
Unknown Analyst
analystYes. Like, for the DHL partnership or anything else?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveDHL partnership. Okay. Okay. Yes. So for DHL partnership, we are in good cooperation with them. I think -- but so far, we are still in early stage. Because from a DHL perspective, they have a lot of very sophisticated demand. For example, we are not going to design the drone for them. We're going to design the whole solution. That means we're going to provide the drones plus the smart box, right? The box that can automatically charge the drone and also shelter the drone and also can sort the parcels automatically. And also, we are going to deploy the facilities in different places. But so far, the project is going so far, so well. So we are close to the end of the Phase 1 of our cooperation within this or next week. So we -- actually, we made very good progress in Phase 1. So after that, we are going to move to Phase 2. So that means we are going to have more real application use cases. So I think that this is an ongoing project. And both sides showing good interest and enthusiasm in it. So far, yes, we are happy about our cooperation so far.
Unknown Analyst
analystAnd the final one was just, how have you extended the range from 30 kilometers to 100 kilometers? Is it -- is that new battery technology in there? Or is there anything you can add to that achievement?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. So I think everyone is very -- shows very good curiosity. So I would keep this as a secret right now because it's not time for us to release it. And once we release it, you are going to be surprised. So yes, stay tuned.
Operator
operatorOur final question comes from the line of Vijay Rakesh from Mizuho.
Vijay Rakesh
analystYes. Sorry. Richard, on the call, you mentioned ES 216, you had 16 units. Just wondering what the geographic breakdown of those sales were Asia versus Europe, et cetera? And number two, on the 2 European countries. Can you elaborate a little bit more about those countries and what the applications are, cargo or logistics? And the last one, number three, I think you mentioned Japan and Korea as new markets. What applications are you seeing there?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveSorry. We missed your first question. Can you say it again?
Vijay Rakesh
analystThe ES 2116, (sic) [ 216 ] the 16 units on the quarter, just a geographic breakdown, how many of these units were for Mainland China versus -- or Asia versus Europe versus North America?
Jian Liu
executiveSo Vijay, you're referring to the second quarter, right?
Vijay Rakesh
analystYes.
Jian Liu
executiveOkay. So for the units of 216, we showed in Q2, they are all in China. Yes. So Edward?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. So your second question is regarding the 2 European countries for what, the operations?
Vijay Rakesh
analystYes. You mentioned Rotterdam and one other country.
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. Actually, we are going to fly in 3 countries, 1 in Linz, of Austria, which is the third-largest country in Austria -- third-largest city in Austria. And so we actually have been talking about this project for a long time. Both parties -- and because this is also introduced by our partner of FACC. So we're going to do a demo flight there. So Linz is a very beautiful city with a beautiful river. So we are going to fly across the river. And in Rotterdam, it's about the port because of the local port authorities are very interested in our project. And because we -- normally, it takes a very long time for them to transport the sea cruise from the vessel to the harbor. It is very expensive and very time-consuming. So by using our AAVs, hopefully, this can help them to improve the efficiency. And yes, also another potential client in France is also inviting us to fly in France as well. So we are actually planning a number of demo flights in the upcoming month. And your final question is about the market in Japan and Korea, right?
Vijay Rakesh
analystYes.
Huaxiang Xu
executiveSo in Japan right now, it's a private company. It's a private company who purchased our AAV, and they are going to operate in Japan for -- just for sightseeing. So I think -- but right now, due to these pandemic things and travel restriction, we are unable to launch the flight there. But we are going to fly in Japan very soon after this situation getting better. And in Korea, it's also similar because I think it's the local government who are interested -- show the interest in our project, in our AAV and place the order for AAV. And so actually, in Korea, it's going to be a multiple demo flights in different cities. So I think with successful demo flights in Korea, it's very hopeful that we can open up a new market there.
Vijay Rakesh
analystAnd the application in Korea?
Huaxiang Xu
executiveYes. In Korea, it's more about this urban transportation and tourism.
Operator
operatorAll right. Thank you. We are now on top of the hours of this earnings conference call. If you have more questions, please reach out to us via e-mail. Now let me turn the call back to Mr. Liu for closing remarks.
Jian Liu
executiveThank you, operator, and thank you all for participating on today's call and for all your support. And we appreciate your interest in our company and look forward to reporting to you again next quarter on our progress. Thank you.
Operator
operatorThank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may all disconnect.
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