Chinese company eyes mass production of its 'flying cars' in 2026

A Chinese company is gunning to become the world's first mass producer of flying cars in 2026, as the country ramps up a drive to develop its "low-altitude economy".

- Joyce ZK Lim

The futuristic vehicle in question — a "land aircraft carrier" in which a passenger drone unfolds from the boot of a six-wheeled van — is developed by a subsidiary of electric carmaker Xpeng.

In theory, users would be able to drive themselves to a take-off site, detach the drone, climb in and navigate the rest of their journey by air. This potentially cuts down on travel time and makes remote areas more accessible.

It would form one part of a rapidly growing sector — that also includes drone deliveries and helicopter air shuttles — which an industry group estimates will be valued at some one trillion yuan (S$184 billion) in 2025 and more than thrice that by 2030.

Xpeng's offering — which costs no more than two million yuan, and seats four in the car and two in the drone — made its first public flight at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2024, and has reportedly received some 3,000 intended orders.

The company broke ground in October on a factory that will have the ability to produce 10,000 flying cars a year, once it is completed in the first quarter of 2026.

"In 2026, Xpeng plans to mass produce, for the first time, our modular flying car," the company's chairman and chief executive He Xiaopeng told reporters on March 8.

The company hopes to begin mass production in the second quarter of 2026 and commence some deliveries thereafter, he added later, in response to a question from The Straits Times.