AeroHT, the eVTOL and “flying car” business arm of XPeng, moved one step closer to full-fledged production, breaking ground on a new facility in China capable of assembling 10,000 units annually.
When complete, the facility will build the AeroHT’s flagship commercial product – an eVTOL/vehicle combo called the “Land Aircraft Carrier.”
Following a decade of development, AeroHT has been able to showcase early flight success with eVTOL prototypes like its X2 “flying car,” which shares design DNA with XPeng brand EVs. However, things really got interesting in October 2023, during XPeng’s annual 1024 event, when AeroHT unveiled two new vehicle designs.
The demonstration included a bonafide flying car called the X3 that can drive, park, and take off on its own and a modular EV called the “Land Aircraft Carrier” that transports a separate eVTOL in its rear. The latter was initially scheduled to enter scaled production in 2025 ahead of customer deliveries in China, but AeroHT has since pushed those deliveries into 2026.
Nevertheless, this past March, the EV/eVTOL combo vessel achieved airworthiness certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of Central and Southern China (CAAC). Most recently, AeroHT’s focus has been on beginning crewed test flights and putting the production infrastructure in place to deliver the Land Aircraft Carrier to the masses. That construction process is now officially underway.
AeroHT production expected to reach 10K annual units
According to a recent release from XPeng AeroHT, the company has broken ground on the construction site of its new “flying car” manufacturing base in Guangzhou, China. AeroHT said that when complete, the production facility will be the first in the world to apply advanced assembly line processes for large-scale flying car production.
The initial production site spans roughly 180,000 square meters and will incorporate four major workshops for flying car builds: a composites shop, a joint shop, a painting shop, and an assembly shop. By combining high-precision assembly techniques of the aviation sector with the efficiency of automotive mass production, AeroHT aims to improve quality consistency, reduce production costs, and shorten delivery timelines. AeroHT founder Zhao Deli elaborated:
This manufacturing base adheres to the principles of exquisite, intelligence, and green, establishing a global benchmark for flying car production.
Zhao added that AeroHT is dedicated to in-house development and manufacturing of core technologies within the production facility to ensure quality control, cost efficiency, and maximized customer value.
As mentioned above, AeroHT completed its inaugural crewed test flight of the “Land Aircraft Carrier” before the unique vessel makes its global public flight debut at the China Airshow on November 12, 2024. Per AeroHT, pre-sales of the EV/eVTOL combo are still expected to begin before the end of 2024 despite production and deliveries being pushed to 2026.
It is expected to cost under $280,000.
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