China to boost general aviation, benefiting Wanfeng

Jan 29, 2021 (China Knowledge) - As one of the twin-wings of civil aviation, general aviation (GA) plays an irreplaceable role in national economic development. In the U.S, GA is the foundation of the entire aviation industry, accounting for a substantial proportion. Although China’s commercial aviation has ranked the second in the world, its GA industry is still at infant stage, with unbalanced industrial structure. China is gradually accelerating the development of its GA industry by boosting the number of airports, aircraft and pilots.

As of Aug 2020, the number of GA aircraft in operation on the Chinese mainland reached 2,930, up 154 from year end of 2019 and almost doubled from the 1,505 in 2014. Among them, the turboprop and piston-engined fixed-wing aircraft accounted for 50% of the GA fleet, totaling 1,472 in 2020.

In terms of market share for the turboprop and piston-engined aircraft maker, Textron Aviation (U.S.) is ranked in first place with a 30% market share, with the Cessna 172 and Cessna 208 being the most widely used turboprop and piston aircraft in China’s GA market. Austria-headquartered Diamond Aircraft, owned by Wanfeng Auto Wheel (002085), takes up the second place with 23% market share, and its Diamond DA 40 and Diamond DA 42 are now the most popular models. It is worth mentioning that Diamond Aircraft has been developing new types of aircraft, expecting to introduce its latest DA50 series to Chinese market and realize localized production.