The long-hoped-for awakening of the Chinese civil rotorcraft market may finally be taking place — and Airbus Helicopters is gearing up to make the most of it.
CEO Guillaume Faury revealed in February that China was the company’s largest single market in 2016, ranking first in both units and value. The country is estimated to need thousands of civil helicopters over the next 20 years for applications such as emergency medical services. However, the slow opening of the lower airspace had impeded sales until now. A recent acceleration in orders has taken the number of helicopters flying in China to 1,000, according to Faury. He is now counting on a 200-unit annual market in the country from 2020.
In the middle of this year, Faury will break ground for Airbus Helicopters’ first final assembly line in China. The factory is planned to be up and running in 2019, producing H135 light twins. It will operate under a 2015 agreement between Airbus Helicopters and Sino-German Ecopark, a firm located in Qingdao, in the Shandong province of China.
Sino-German Ecopark has committed to build at least 100 H135s over a 10-year period. An “ecosystem” will be developed with Chinese partners, including maintenance, repair, and overhaul, and training facilities. The H135s produced in China will be distributed domestically.
Late last year, Airbus Helicopters engineers supported their counterparts from Avicopter for the first flight of the AC352 medium twin. The AC352 is the Chinese designation of the H175, a 50-50 joint program. Two dozen Airbus Helicopters employees are based in China to support AC352 engineering and production, with certification expected in 2018.
Thanks to China’s “huge” potential in aerospace, Faury believes his company will have other joint projects in the country. Asked about Airbus Helicopters product lookalikes offered by Chinese companies, he said he sees Avicopter as a partner rather than a competitor.
