AeroHT, XPeng’s electric air mobility arm, has shared an update on the progress of its Land Aircraft Carrier. AeroHT’s modular flying car is scheduled for public crewed test flights this fall ahead of mass production and customer deliveries in 2026 and will cost at most $280,000.
AeroHT is an affiliate of XPeng Inc., which is majority owned by the company and its founder, He Xiaopeng. Since beginning operations over a decade ago, AeroHT has specialized in developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles.
AeroHT publicly showcased early flight success on the propellers of its X2 “flying car,” an eVTOL that shares design DNA with XPeng brand EVs. However, during XPeng’s annual 1024 event last fall, AeroHT unveiled two new flying car designs – an actual flying car called the X3 that can drive, park, and take off on its own, as well as a modular EV that transports a separate eVTOL in its rear.
The latter, named the Land Aircraft Carrier, was initially scheduled to enter scaled production in 2025 ahead of customer deliveries in China, allowing customers to simultaneously navigate the roads and the skies.
This past March, the EV/eVTOL combo vessel achieved airworthiness certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of Central and Southern China (CAAC), moving it closer to scaled production. Most recently, AeroHT’s founder and president shared an update about the flying car, which will perform human-crewed flights in front of the public this November.
XPeng AeroHT’s share updated flying car timeline
During a live stream event held in China earlier today, XPeng AeroHT founder and President Zhao Deli publicly debuted the Land Aircraft Carrier to the public for the first time and shared an update on the eVTOL’s progress and plans.
As initially promised, AeroHT will begin accepting pre-orders for the modular flying car before the end of 2024. However, mass production has been pushed a bit from Q4 2025 to sometime in 2026.
We also have a better idea of the cost of AeroHT’s potentially groundbreaking flying car combo. Per Deli, the Land Aircraft Carrier will cost no more than RMB 2 million ($280,740).
Part of the reason for the production delay appears to be the awaited construction of Xpeng AeroHT’s new factory in Guangzhou, China, which will begin by the end of this month or early October at the latest and is expected to deliver the first flying car prototype off its production line by July 31, 2025.
When complete, that facility is anticipated to produce over 10,000 eVTOLs per year and serve as a vital hub for AeroHT, which aims to deliver more eVTOLs around the globe than any other company in the space.
Before mass production of the Land Aircraft Carrier begins, Deli said AeroHT is planning its first crewed demonstration of the modular flying car for the public in China at the Zhuhai Airshow, which will take place November 12-17, 2024. The vehicle will also be displayed at the Guangzhou Auto Show later that month.
AeroHT is gaining momentum in 2024. In August, it completed a successful Series B1 funding round that garnered $150 million. This was quickly followed by a B2 round to raise even more funding for plant construction and mass production.
We will circle back in November following those flying car test flights and hopefully have some video footage to share.