We’re finally getting a flying car! Okay, so it’s actually a tank-like electric vehicle with a built-in compartment to store a vertical takeoff personal aircraft. But at least it’s not conceptual vaporware, because order books for the vehicle two-fer will open by the end of the year.
Xpeng AeroHT is a “flying car” subsidiary of Xpeng, one of the region’s leading EV makers. Development of its “Land Aircraft Carrier” was unveiled in October 2023, followed by a production update in January at CES in Las Vegas. However, no physical vehicle or model was shown during either announcement.
Fast forward eight months, and AeroHT has debuted the two-in-one vehicle IRL, including a flight demo of the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. In a press release, the company said a public showing of a manned flight will take place at an airshow in November.
Despite its basic-sounding name, the Land Aircraft Carrier, which consists of a ground module and an air module, is as imaginative as it is innovative. The ground module, known as the “mothership,” features what AeroHT calls a “minimalist, cyber-mech design.” Translation: It looks like the love child of a Tesla Cybertruck and a Volkswagen ID.Buzz.
The cyber-van can seat up to five occupants and features a six-wheel, three-axle configuration with all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering. The vehicle will also be equipped with the world’s first 800V silicon carbide extended-range powertrain, which AeroHT says is good for more than 1000 kilometers (621 miles) of travel. The ground module can also double as a mobile power station.
The air module, or eVTOL, also uses an 800V silicon carbide high-voltage platform. The eVTOL features a six-axis, six-propellor dual-ducted fan design whose arms and propellors easily fold out and in for flight use or storage. Capable of manual and autonomous operation, the small aircraft‘s two-person cockpit offers a 270-degree panoramic field of view.
AeroHT says it developed a world-first single-level control system to minimize complexity and increase skill. By eliminating the need for dual-hand and dual-foot controls used in traditional aircraft, the company says first-time pilots can learn to operate its eVTOL in just five minutes and be wholly proficient within three hours. Hmm, I think I’d still want to be covered in bubble wrap, just in case.
Because the air module can be charged while onboard the mothership, it would be capable of up to six low-altitude flights on a full battery charge and full tank of fuel. AeroHT has not specified how low of an altitude the aircraft must travel or the range (distance or time) of a fully charged/fueled flight.
According to Electrek, the Land Aircraft Carrier will set you back 2 million Chinese yuan, or about $282,000 at the current exchange rate. But that’s for two vehicles—one that flies and one that looks apocalypse-ready. Pre-sales will begin in Q4 2024, with prototype production slated for mid-2025 at a new factory currently under construction. If all goes according to plan, mass production and customer deliveries are expected to take place in 2026.