Hate rush hour? This $140,000 Chinese electric car can fly over traffic jams
An electric flying car designed to escape traffic in China may go into mass production in 2025.
Xpeng Aeroht, which was founded by high-school dropout Zhao Deli, 45, in 2013, is an affiliate of XPENG and the largest flying car company in Asia, according to the company’s website.
The Xpeng X2, which includes four electric engines and eight propellers, is designed to be flown in times of traffic jams or road obstacles. Unlike many electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the model has wheels and can be driven on the ground.
According to Zhao, the Xpeng X2 may go into mass production in 2025 with an envisioned price tag of about 1 million yuan (approximately $143,000).
In October, the Chinese company conducted the first public flight of its electric flying car at Skydive Dubai following its kickoff at this year’s GITEX Global, which is one of the world’s largest tech shows.
The two-seater aircraft hovered 100 feet above over 150 people, with several witnesses cheering, “Make us Chinese proud in Dubai!” in unison.
“The flying car is approaching reality and we think it was the right time to chip in,” Xpeng’s president Brian Gu said at the event. “The industry has produced a lot of technical breakthroughs, from weight reduction to obstacle avoidance and electrification.”
According to financial services company Morgan Stanley, the eVTOL field could be worth up to $1 trillion by 2040.
The field has already become crowded with other Chinese firms, including Ehang Holdings Ltd. and TCab Tech.
“There are a few examples where American companies told us which sector is promising and can make money, and their Chinese counterparts just went and grabbed the market with lower prices,” Warren Zhou, a backer of TCab Tech, told Bloomberg. “It will be the same with the eVTOL and flying car industry.”
Although their technology is not fully developed yet, investors are more concerned about flying cars’ profitability and regulatory approval.
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