Deliveries of a $300,000 flying car may be coming later this year

By Nora Redmond

Xpeng's "land aircraft carrier" is reportedly expected to retail for just under $300,000 a unit.

A Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer says it expects to start delivering flying cars to customers later this year, with full-scale production forecast for 2027.

Xpeng (XPEV) has gotten over 7,000 orders for those vehicles, mostly in China, where it's seeking approval from aviation regulators, Reuters reported on Thursday. Humanoid robots will be in production toward the end of this year, Brian Gu, co-president of Xpeng, told the news outlet ahead of the Beijing Auto Show.

Aridge, the company's subsidiary, has previously said that it's in the process of producing its "land aircraft carrier" - a modular package containing a four-seater, six-wheeled EV and an aircraft that's stored in the car. It's set to retail for 2 million Chinese yuan, or just under $300,000, media reports and trade magazines reported last month.

The cars are being built in a 120,000-square-meter facility in Guangzhou, China that's designed to produce 10,000 units a year. Aridge has referred to the factory as the "world's first intelligent flying car manufacturing facility."

Gu said Xpeng sees a big opportunity to boost cooperation with Volkswagen (XE:VOW3), with which it began building the German automaker's first EV model last month.

"There are a lot of areas that we can partner and really ?provide value to each other," he said. "We need to be nimble and willing to partner with different players ?in different regions."

Gu added that Xpeng is focusing on robotaxis, with tests due to start in Guangzhou this year. He said the following year would be a "critical" one for tests with international partners.

As for the robots, he said the company hopes to manufacture hundreds of thousands of models within a year to 18 months. Those would be used for customer-facing roles like receptionists and salespeople to start.

"There will be more use cases for humanoid robots in our ?lives," he said, adding that Xpeng's robot unit could be dwarf its car business in the next 10 to 20 years.

Shares in Xpeng rose more than 2.5% in premarket trading after falling about 6.5% on Thursday.

-Nora Redmond

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04-24-26 0723ET