(Yicai) May 21 -- EHang Holdings, a leading Chinese maker of autonomous electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, said its net loss shrank 27 percent in the first quarter this year thanks to record deliveries.

Net loss was CNY63.4 million (USD8.8 million) in the first three months of the year, the Guangzhou-based startup said in a financial report released today.

EHang delivered 26 passenger-carrying autonomous eVTOL aircraft EH216-S in the first quarter, it noted. The government of Wuxi received 10, while Wings Logistics Hub, a United Arab Emirates smart logistics and air mobility firm, got 5, it added.

"Driven by our certifications and favorable government policies, we achieved stellar financial results," Conor Yang, chief financial officer of EHang, said on an earnings conference call. "We exceeded our guidance with first-quarter revenue growing 178 percent year-over-year to reach CNY61.7 million, reflecting robust demand for our proprietary EH216 pilotless eVTOL vehicles."

EHang got a production certificate for the EH216-S from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, a first in the world's eVTOL industry. It had previously received type and standard airworthiness certificates.

EHang expects its revenue to reach about CNY90 million this quarter, up around 804 percent from a year earlier, it noted.

Based on EHang's cost structure and business expansion trends, delivering 200 to 250 EH216-S units a year will likely achieve an annual break-even point, Yang pointed out.

Editor: Martin Kadiev