The radical Xpeng AeroHT Land Aircraft Carrier – a six-wheeled off-truck with a built-in modular ‘flying car’ – is on track to begin mass production in 2026 after making its public debut recently.
Both the car and the compact electric eVTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft were shown at the recent CES tech show in Las Vegas.
Its maker, Xpeng AeroHT, a subsidiary of UK-bound Chinese electric car maker Xpeng Motors, said it had already received more than 3000 ‘intent orders’.
The Land Aircraft Carrier was announced in January 2024, and the aircraft has now completed its first test flights in China and received its type certification approval – a key step towards it being allowed to conduct public flights.
“This will appeal to multiple customer types,” Xpeng AeroHT co-founder and chief designer Wang Tan told Autocar.
“There are people who like to go off-road, and this vehicle has a six-wheel set-up and a differential lock that gives it real off-road ability.
“It will also offer another dimension to people who fly. I’m a pilot, and every time I want to fly, I need to go to the airport, and if I have my own helicopter, I might need a trailer. It makes it all very difficult, but with this, I can take my eVTOL anywhere.”
The ‘mothership’ EV has been developed largely by Xpeng Motors on behalf of Xpeng AeroHT. It’s around 5.5 metres in length and 2.0 metres wide, which Tan claimed will allow it to fit in “standard” parking spaces.
It features a striking design, with a bluff front end and a sloping rear roof, along with ‘suicide’ rear doors to create a large central opening.
While Xpeng AeroHT hasn’t yet given full technical details, it has said the truck will use a range-extender EV powertrain that will give it a combined range in excess of 620 miles on the Chinese test cycle.
