Chinese company Xpeng has announced that its flying car, which will travel by road and air, will be produced in 2024 and priced at 135,000 euros. The company, known for being a fierce competitor of Tesla, has joined the battle to dominate the nascent flying car market and unveiled the design of an electric car with wheels and wings.
The Chinese company has confirmed that its flying car, which has yet to be christened, will begin mass production in 2024 and will sell for around $157,000 (just over 135,000 euros). XPeng Motors CEO, He Xiaopeng, recently expressed his views on the future of the market in a recent post on Chinese website Weibo.
What we see as a flying car is not a flying machine, it should be a smart electric car in the city and a low-altitude flying vehicle in the suburbs.
He Xiaopeng, XPeng Motors CEO
Despite Xpeng’s initiative, there is a big challenge. The non-existence of a regulatory framework governing cars that circulate through the air, something that would make it difficult to market them so close in time.
HT Aero, the Xpeng subsidiary that will manufacture this flying device, claims that the final design of what has been presented could change and that the main purpose of this announcement is to show that flying cars are already here and are here to stay.
Flying cars will be an extension of cars in the future, and for the first few years they will mainly fly at ultra-low altitudes of 7-10 meters.
He Xiaopeng, XPeng Motors CEO
To prove it, the company has used data: to date it has carried out more than 15,000 test and development flights to fine-tune what will be its first flying car to go on sale. What Xpeng has unveiled is a road-going sports-style coupe with two long arms and rotors that will allow it to take to the skies. These twin propellers on the folding arms give it a wingspan of about 12 meters and these fold into a compartment inside the car when it is in “car mode”.
The Chinese manufacturer claims that the car/plane will have a large number of safety features, allowing it to assess the situation before, during and after takeoff. Also, if things get complicated, don’t worry, the parachute is included.
