Xpeng’s crazy AeroHT road-going aircraft carrier is a reality and will start pre-sales before the end of the year, with deliveries scheduled for 2026. The crazy contraption was unveiled in October last year through the eVTOL and flying car subsidiary of Chinese EV maker Xpeng. It consists of a large six-wheeled van with a Tesla Cybertruck-like design that has a spacious cabin and a huge rear cargo area where a two-seat eVTOL drone can be secured. Xpeng apparently decided against building a road-legal car with rotors like other flying cars and believes this is a better solution to driving on the street and taking to the air.
As you would imagine, the Land Aircraft
Carrier and the eVTOL drone (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) it comes
with won’t be cheap, setting back Chinese buyers around 2 million yuan or US$ 280,000. While that’s a lot of money, it’s cheaper than one may expect. The
Land Aircraft Carrier itself is based on an 800-volt high-voltage platform and
is an EREV, or extended-range electric vehicle. It uses a small combustion
engine that powers electric motors and a sizeable battery pack. While many
details about this powertrain remain unclear, local media says it’ll have a
combined range of around 1,000 km.
Xpeng will provide the public with its
first chance to see the eVTOL drone in action at an event in November, where it
will be flown manually. When it hits the market in 2026, the drone will also be
able to fly itself autonomously. The van and the aircraft received airworthiness
certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of Central and Southern
China earlier this year.
The Chinese brand will build the
road-going and flying combo at a dedicated plant which is set to start
construction later this month. Trial production has been penciled in for July
2025, and the facility will be able to produce over 10,000 units annually.
