Xpeng's CEO believes the low-altitude economy will begin to make inroads into people's lives next year and the year after that, and will see it grow larger and larger over the next 5 to 20 years.
(Image credit: Xpeng Aeroht)
The CEO of Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) has asked executives at the company's flying car unit to have enough hands-on experience to ensure safety before the products are officially sold.
"We have an internal requirement that all executives involved in the flying car program must fly 5,000 kilometers before our flying cars are sold," Xpeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said in an interview with local media outlet 21jingji.
Executives can only know how to do a good job on safety if they experience it for themselves, He said, according to a video released today by 21jingji.
"I believe the low-altitude economy will start to gradually enter our personal lives next year and the year after that, and will see an increasing scale in the next five to 20 years," He said.
He said that his team is utilizing the supply chain of the automotive industry, as well as the methods used to build cars, to reduce the manufacturing costs of flying cars.
Only by bringing down manufacturing costs and making them safer will it be possible for more people to experience flying cars, he said.
Xpeng's exploration of the flying car space is being carried out by subsidiary Xpeng Aeroht, which was founded in 2013 and is majority owned by Xpeng and He.
Aeroht announced on January 10 that it would open pre-orders for its modular flying car in China in the fourth quarter, with mass production and delivery in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Aeroht's flying car development path will include an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) flying car and a modular flying car, Xpeng said at the October 24, 2023, Tech Day event.
The modular vehicle will consist of a flying car and a parent vehicle that will power the flying car.
The mother vehicle will have an extended-range powertrain with 6*6 all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering.
The modular flying car will be the world's first split flying car to be delivered to individuals, Xpeng Aeroht co-founder and vice president Wang Tan said in January.
Aeroht has not announced the price of its flying car, though Mr. He said at the October 24, 2021 Tech Day event that Xpeng aims to have the flying car in mass production by 2024, with a price tag expected to be under RMB 1 million yuan ($140,000).
In contrast, Chinese eVTOL developer Ehang is building a flying car that is more helicopter-like in form.
Ehang's EH216-S unmanned aerial vehicle has an official guide price of RMB 2.39 million in China, it announced on February 2.
($1 = RMB 7.1984)
Xpeng Aeroht to start pre-orders for its modular flying car in China in Q4
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