Watch XPeng AeroHT complete its first international ‘flying car’ flight in Dubai with the X2 eVTOL
XPeng’s urban air mobility (UAM) company AeroHT has demonstrated huge progress for eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicles by showcasing its fifth-generation X2 ‘flying car’ publicly taking off, flying, and successfully landing during a demonstration in Dubai. Additionally, the company offered a progress update for its sixth-generation flying car, which is an actual car with wheels that drives and can take off and fly. Check it out.
AeroHT, fka XPeng Huitian, is a majority-owned entity of XPeng Inc. and its founder He Xiaopeng. Since its inception in 2013, AeroHT has conducted over 15,000 safely manned flights with the goal of combining automotive and aerospace technologies to develop safe, domestic electric flying vehicles at scale. These days, it’s well on its way.
Previous eVTOL prototypes include the T1 in 2019, followed by the X1 in 2020. The X2 is the company’s fifth-generation “flying car.” Despite its lack of wheels, AeroHT refers to the X2 as a flying car because it shares much of the same design DNA as the P7 sedan from XPeng Motors.
In the past, XPeng AeroHT has shared aerial footage of the X2 testing in extreme environments and high altitudes, but only in China. As it works toward delivering its sixth-generation model – an actual flying car unveiled last October – XPeng AeroHT has publicly shown off the capabilities of its fifth-generation flying car in Dubai.
For the first time, we get to see uncut footage of the eVTOL taking off, flying, and landing. That video is below, but to kick things off, check out this edited footage of the X2 flying car on display at Skydive Dubai outside of Gitex Global 2022:
X2 flies in Dubai ahead of details for AeroHT’s next flying car
Following the live demonstration in Dubai, XPeng AeroHT shared details of the event, the company’s progress, and its future in a detailed press release. This initial public flight was attended by over 150 people and was supported by the Dubai International Chamber of Commerce, which was deeply involved in the entire process, providing consulting to XPeng AeroHT.
The X2 flying car is on display this week at Gitex Global – one of the world’s largest tech shows taking place at the Dubai World Trade Center. When moved off-site to Skydive Dubai, the XPeng X2 successfully completed specific operations risk assessments outlined with the DCAA, receiving permission to make its first public flight in Dubai – its first outside of China. XPeng’s vice chairman and president Brian Gu spoke to the achievement overseas:
XPeng X2’s public display in Dubai represents a significant milestone for XPeng AeroHT and the international achievement of flying cars. Dubai is a world-renowned ‘City of Innovation’, which is the reason we decided to hold the X2 first public flight event here. Today’s flight is a major step in XPeng’s exploration of future mobility.
Part of the “exploration of future mobility” Gu is speaking to is XPeng’s sixth-generation eVTOL – a true ‘flying car’ in a more traditional sense given that it can actually drive too. It was first unveiled during the company’s 1024 Tech Day last fall.
At the time, we learned that this latest flying car would be the first to come equipped with road capabilities, offering a lightweight design and foldable rotor mechanism for quick transitions between driving and flying. Additionally, XPeng stated the vehicle will arrive sometime in 2024 and should cost below RMB 1,000,000 (or approximately $156,600).
From Dubai, XPeng AeroHT is teasing new details of this flying car, stating it will reveal “the crucial achievement of R&D progress” as it pertains to the configuration, exterior design, and air driving method. Per XPeng AeroHT:
Equipped with both manual and automatic flight driving modes, this next-generation electric flying car, which is able to drive in the air and on roads, represents a true transformation from two-dimensional to three-dimensional mobility. As well as meeting daily travel demands, it can trigger the folding deformation system to achieve vertical take-off and landing for a low-altitude manned flight.
Those details will be made public during this year’s 1024 Tech day on October 24. More to come later this month. For now, we will have to settle for uncut footage of XPeng’s fifth-generation flying car (without wheels) operating in Dubai. Enjoy.
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Credit where credit is due: in a massive, 32-car multinational independent test, Tesla’s Autopilot ADAS came out on top, the new affordable Tesla turns out to be a corner-cutting Model Y, and one of the company’s original founders compares the Cybertruck to a dumpster. All this and more on today’s episode of Quick Charge!
Today’s episode is brought to you by Retrospec – the makers of sleek, powerful e-bikes and outdoor gear built for everyday adventure! To that end, we’ve got a pair of Retrospec e-bike reviews followed up by a super cute, super affordable new EV from China with nearly 150 miles of range for less than $5,000 USD.
PLUS: listeners can get an extra 10% off by using code ELECTREK10 at retrospec.com!
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Tesla is again teasing the new Roadster, which is now five years late, as “the last driver’s car” before self-driving takes over.
The chicken or the egg. Is Tesla delaying the Roadster to match the development of self-driving technology, or is it delaying the development of self-driving technology to match the delayed release of the Roadster?
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was initially scheduled to enter production in 2020; however, it has been delayed every year since then.
It was supposed to achieve a range of 620 miles (1,000 km) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.
Tesla used the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered; however, the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.
Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was initially scheduled to hit the market five years ago.
When unveiling the vehicle, CEO Elon Musk described it as a “halo car” that would deliver a “smack down” to gasoline vehicles.
That was almost eight years ago, and many electric hypercars have since launched and delivered this smackdown.
Tesla has partly blamed the delays on improving the next-gen Roadsters and added features like the “SpaceX package,” which is supposed to include cold air thrusters to enable the vehicle to fly – Musk has hinted.
Many people don’t believe any of it, as Tesla has said that it would launch the new Roadster every year for the last 5 years and never did.
Now, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, made a rare new comment about the next-generation Roadster during an interview at the X Takeover event, an annual gathering of Elon Musk cultists, last weekend.
He referred to Tesla’s next-gen Roadster as the “last best driver’s car” and said that the automaker did “some cool demos” for Musk last week:
We spent a lot of time in the last few years rethinking what we did, and why we did it, and what would make an awesome and exciting last best driver’s car. We’ve been making it better and better, and it is even a little bit more than a car. We showed Elon some cool demos last week and tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.
The timing matches Musk’s recent claim that Tesla is going to have ‘the most epic demo ever, ’ but we heard that one before.
We suspected that the comment might be about the Tesla Roadster, as the CEO made the exact same comment about Roadster demos in 2019 and 2024. You will not be shocked to hear that these demos never happen.
Electrek’s Take
The “last best driver’s car” before computers are going to drive us everywhere. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if you continue to delay the car. It might literally be the last car ever made that way. How would we ever know?
The truth is that the Roadster was cool when it was unveiled in 2017, but that was a long time ago. Tesla would need to update the car quite a bit to make it cool in 2025, and I don’t know that cold air clusters are it. You will have extreme limitations using those.
The Roadster is almost entirely in the “put up or shut up” category for me at Tesla. They need to stop talking about it and make it happen; otherwise, I can’t believe a word.
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The PV5 is already available in several markets, but will Kia launch it in the US? After Kia’s electric van was spotted testing in the US again, a US debut could be in the works.
Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?
Kia launched the PV5, the first dedicated electric van from its new Platform Beyond vehicle (PBV) business, in South Korea and Europe earlier this year, promising it will roll out in “other global markets” in 2026.
Will that include the US? Earlier this year, Kia’s electric van was caught charging at a station in Indiana. Photos and a video sent to Electrek by Alex Nguyen confirmed it was, in fact, the PV5.
Kia has yet to say if it will sell the PV5 in the US, likely due to the Trump Administration’s new auto tariffs. All electric vans, or PBVs, including the PV5, will be built at Kia’s Hwaseong plant in South Korea, which means they will face a stiff 25% tariff as imports.
Following another sighting, a US debut cannot be ruled out. The PV5 Passenger model was spotted by Automotive Validation Engineer Chris Higa (@Chrisediting) while testing in Arizona.
There’s no denying that’s Kia’s electric van, but it doesn’t necessarily confirm it will launch in the US. But it could make sense.
Despite record first-half sales in the US, Kia’s EV sales have fallen significantly. Sales of the EV9 and EV6 are nearly 50% less than in the first half of 2024.
To be fair, part of it is due to the new model year changeover, but Kia is also doubling down on the US market by boosting local production. Earlier this year, Kia said the EV6 and EV9 are now in full-scale production at its West Point, GA, facility.
The PV5 Passenger (shown above) is available in Europe with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, rated with WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant has the same battery options but offers a WLTP range of either 181 miles or 247 miles.
During its PV5 Tech Day event last week, Kia revealed plans for seven PV5 body types, including an Open Bed (similar to a pickup), a Light Camper, and even a luxury “Prime” passenger model.
Kia is set to begin deliveries of the PV5 Passenger and Cargo Long variants in South Korea next month, followed by Europe and other global markets, starting in Q4 2025. As for a US launch, we will have to wait for the official word from Kia.
Do you want Kia to bring its electric van to the US? Drop us a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Source: Chris Higa, TheKoreanCarBlog
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