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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
XPENG AEROHT's "flying car" makes a demonstration flight in a tourist area in Changde, central China's Hunan Province, on March 27, 2025. /Photo: Xinhua/
Beijing, November 26 (Xinhua) — XPENG AEROHT, a division of Chinese electric vehicle giant XPENG, launched a trial production of flying cars at its smart factory in early November, making it the world's first factory for mass production of flying electric vehicles. Industry analysts have already hailed the event as a landmark in the commercialization of next-generation transportation.
The plant, which covers 120,000 square meters in the Huangpu District of Guangzhou (the capital of Guangdong Province, southern China), has already produced the first detachable electric aircraft for a separate flying car, dubbed the "Land Aircraft Carrier."
The Land Aircraft Carrier is a six-wheeled electric van with a multicopter, a detachable electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, mounted at the rear.
The aircraft offers both automatic and manual flight modes. Its automatic mode enables intelligent route planning, as well as one-touch takeoff and landing.
The vehicle is approximately 5.5 meters long and can be driven on public roads with a standard driver's license and parked in regular parking spaces.
The plant's design production capacity is 10,000 detachable aircraft per year, with an initial capacity of 5,000 units. This is the largest production capacity of any similar plant globally. Once fully operational, the plant will be able to assemble one aircraft every 30 minutes.
XPENG AEROHT has already received orders for nearly 5,000 "flying cars" since its unveiling. Full-scale serial production and deliveries are planned for 2026.
FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY
The company's announcement is indeed encouraging, industry experts say, arguing that it provides grounds for believing that people will be able to fly around the city in "air taxis" in the foreseeable future.
In recent years, "flying cars" in China have progressed from concept to testing. XPENG AEROHT, a leading company in the "flying car" industry, has successfully completed a series of tests.
In early March of this year, the company's flying car twice flew over the Pearl River, which flows through central Guangzhou, circling several of the city's iconic landmarks. Later that month, another flying car from the company conducted a test flight over the city of Changde in Hunan Province (central China).
According to XPENG AEROHT founder Zhao Deli, unlike helicopters, flying cars are primarily powered by electricity, so they offer advantages such as being environmentally friendly, low noise, and requiring fewer takeoff and landing sites.
“The flying car can be used for both personal purposes, such as short trips to nature or excursions, and for providing public services, such as medical assistance, fire and rescue operations, assistance in road accidents, and so on,” he said.
In addition to XPENG AEROHT, many other Chinese automakers are poised to become players in the "flying car" market. In April 2025, at the 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, China FAW Group Co., Ltd. unveiled its first flying car under the Hongqi brand, with a range of over 200 km, while Chery unveiled a flying car with a three-module configuration and mixed-wing construction.
NATIONAL PRIORITIES
"Flying cars" are a key component of the so-called low-altitude economy, which is rapidly developing in China thanks to government incentives. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the country's low-altitude economy market will reach 1.5 trillion yuan by 2025 and 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035.
The development of the low-altitude economy is in line with national strategic priorities. In 2024, this sector was first included in the Chinese government's work report, which emphasized it as a new growth engine alongside biomanufacturing and the commercial space sector. At the Third Plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, further plans for the development of general aviation and the low-altitude economy were outlined, and a clear direction for its expansion was established.
Most of China's regional governments have included the low-altitude economy in their development programs, indicating widespread recognition of its potential.
Cities such as Hangzhou (in eastern China) and Wuhan (in central China) are leading the way in implementing these initiatives. Hangzhou has identified the low-altitude economy as one of its five promising industries of the future, focusing on low-altitude industries and transportation, while Wuhan aims to build 1,000 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hangars and an integrated management system by 2030.
In March this year, Chinese drone manufacturer EHang Holdings Limited and another company received the country's first operating certificates for autonomous passenger drones from the Civil Aviation Authority, indicating that China has entered the commercial operation stage of autonomous passenger drones.
EHang Holdings Limited has already received a license from the department to manufacture the EH216-S passenger unmanned aerial system, as well as a type certificate and a standard airworthiness certificate for this model.
PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES
Experts predict that low-altitude aircraft, along with humanoid robots and yachts, will become the "new essential trinity" of family consumption in the future. However, it should be noted that many factors will influence the development of this industry.
First and foremost, experts identified cost reduction as a crucial issue to be addressed. Zhao Deli believes that the most pressing issue at present is to reduce operating costs for "flying cars" as quickly as possible without sacrificing safety, so that they can compete on price with airplanes, high-speed trains, and other modes of transportation. Otherwise, the expansion of this market will be limited.
Jin Wei, an expert at the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, noted that roads can support some of the weight of vehicles powered by new energy sources, but aircraft takeoff and landing rely entirely on batteries. "Naturally, this places higher demands," he emphasized.
In addition, experts believe that "flying cars" require vertical takeoff and landing sites, parking areas, aviation terminals, communications and navigation equipment, etc.
Despite these factors, the “flying car” industry in China is still developing quite steadily.
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher Wei Xiang attributed these successes to the country's strong manufacturing and innovation potential.
"China has a complete supply chain and system in the manufacturing sector, which leads to a plethora of 'flying car' options," the expert explained.
He also called for simplification of airspace regulations, accelerated infrastructure development and the attraction of talented professionals to facilitate the more prosperous development of this nascent but promising industry.
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