China's XPeng has begun trial production of flying cars.
BEIJING, November 4 — . Chinese electric car manufacturer XPeng has launched trial production of flying cars at a plant in southern China, Xinhua reports.
"XPeng Aeroht, the flying car division of Chinese electric vehicle maker XPeng, on Monday began trial production at the world's first smart factory for mass production of electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft," the statement said.
The 120,000-square-meter plant, located in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, southern China, has already produced the first detachable electric aircraft of the Land Aircraft Carrier modular vehicle.
The Guangzhou plant's design capacity is 10,000 removable aircraft modules per year, with an initial capacity of 5,000 units. Once fully operational, the plant will be able to assemble one aircraft every half hour, the agency reports.
XPeng Aeroht Vice President Wang Tan previously told RIA Novosti that the XPeng Aeroht is a modular vehicle with a piloted aircraft capable of carrying two people, deployed from its trunk. He explained that the owner of such a vehicle would be able to "drive to a beautiful location, park, deploy the aircraft, and take off." Wang Tan also stated that the vehicle is initially intended for sale in China, with plans to gradually expand its reach to the global market.
Wang Tan noted that, according to preliminary estimates, the price of the modular flying car will be between 1 and 2 million yuan (about 138-276 thousand dollars).
The company's general manager of international communications, Tang Fengting, previously told RIA Novosti that XPeng Aeroht plans to begin mass production and deliveries of its "land-based aircraft carrier"—a vehicle consisting of ground and air modules—in the first half of 2026.
The XPeng Aeroht Land Aircraft Carrier (LAC) is five and a half meters long, two meters wide, and two meters high. It is a six-wheeled off-road vehicle with an integrated aircraft.
According to Tang Fengting, the "land-based aircraft carrier," although quite large in size, can easily fit into a regular parking lot or be lowered into an underground parking garage.
As Tang Fengting told the agency, the car itself can accommodate four people, while the aircraft has room for two. The maximum range on a single battery is 1,000 kilometers. The aircraft compartment is located at the rear of the car, in place of the trunk. According to her, the aircraft can be detached from the car with just one click, and the entire process takes less than five minutes.
The LAC's design is reminiscent of Tesla's Cybertruck pickup truck. However, according to Tang Fengting, the company didn't draw its inspiration from there, although such questions often arise.