During a press event held during CES in Las Vegas, XPeng’s electric aviation business arm AeroHT shared new details regarding two of its “flying cars.” In addition to live demonstrations of its eVTOL flying supercar, XPeng AeroHT shared that its modular “Land Aircraft Carrier” will enter mass production.
AeroHT is an eVTOL-focused entity of XPeng Inc., majority-owned by the company and its founder He Xiaopeng. Since 2013, AeroHT has conducted tens of thousands of safe flights en route to developing and implementing electric flying vehicles at scale.
Its mobility sibling, XPeng Motors, has delivered some impressive technology in its own right, but many would argue that AeroHT’s technology is even more exciting. During XPeng’s annual 1024 Tech Day event in 2022, AeroHT introduced its seventh generation flying car. Others have used that term loosely, but this prototype is a genuine EV that drives, deploys propellers, and can take off into the sky.
2023’s Tech Day brought the debut of two new “flying car” designs, including a revamped version of the flying supercar mentioned above. New to the AeroHT family was a 6×6 all-wheel drive EV that houses an eVTOL aircraft in its rear. That vehicle has come to be known as the “Land Aircraft Carrier,” and according to news from XPeng and AeroHT in Vegas today, will enter mass production in 2025.
XPeng AeroHT’s flying car carrier to begin pre-orders in Q4
During a press event held live at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, XPeng AeroHT shared significant updates on the progress of its “flying car” technology. First, the Land Aircraft Carrier in the featured image above has been slotted for scaled production in 2025.
Before then, however, the company will open pre-orders for the modular EV/ eVTOL combo beginning in Q4 of this year. Described by its makers as “not another mere concept,” AeroHT shared that the Land Aircraft Carrier has already completed all necessary tests during its R&D validation phase and has now begun the preparation stage for mass production.
While XPeng AeroHT states the final design of the “flying car” is still in development, it should feature the following specs if and when scaled production begins:
- Ground Module (BEV)
- Accommodates 4-5 passengers.
- Extended-range electric powertrain can recharge the eVTOL air module multiple times.
- Three-axle, six-wheel configuration enables 6×6 all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering.
- Air Module (eVTOL)
- Fully-electric piloted aircraft capable of vertical takeoff/landing and low-altitude flights.
- Its electric propulsion system meets single-point failure safety requirements.
- The eVTOL supports manual and autonomous flight modes.
- A 270° panoramic two-person cockpit offers a wide field of view.
Despite pre-orders in the pipeline, XPeng AeroHT is not sharing precisely what its Land Aircraft Carrier “flying car” will cost. XPeng founder He Xiaopeng said the carrier would be priced in the RMB 1 million segment ($140,500). We will learn more concrete pricing once the company debuts its final design.
In addition, the scaled production of the eVTOL carrier, XPeng AeroHT, also wowed the CES crowd with its international debut and a live demonstration of its flying supercar. The EV transitioned into flight mode – deploying its rotor-equipped arms before completing a successful vertical takeoff and landing.
When XPeng AeroHT introduced the sixth generation of the flying car during 1024 Tech Day 2021, it was expected to arrive sometime in 2024 and cost less than RMB 1,000,000 (~$156,600). However, that no longer seems to be the targeted arrival as the electric aviation arm’s production focus appears set on the Land Aircraft Carrier, at least for now.
That isn’t to say we won’t see this genuine flying EV reach production someday, and given today’s live demo, it appears more feasible than ever. For now, however, our sights are set on Q4 2024, when Land Aircraft Carrier pre-orders begin.
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