X2 ‘flying car’ from XPeng’s Aero HT becomes first crewed eVTOL to receive flight permit in China
XPeng’s eVTOL business arm AeroHT announced it has received a conditional permit from the Chinese government to continue flights operated by a human in its X2 “flying car.” According to the company, the X2 is the first eVTOL to receive such a permit in the entire country, allowing XPeng AeroHT to continue development on its way to mass-production of eVTOL products like its sixth-generation flying car scheduled for production next year.
AeroHT, fka XPeng Huitian, is an eVTOL-centric entity of XPeng Inc., majority-owned by the company and its founder He Xiaopeng. Since its inception in 2013, AeroHT has conducted over 15,000 safe flights with the goal of combining automotive and aerospace technologies to develop safe domestic electric flying vehicles at scale.
While the company is indeed developing an actual flying car called the X3 that we’ve witnessed drive, park, and takeoff on its own, AeroHT has had more success with its X2 eVTOL, which the company also described as a “flying car,” despite its lack of wheels. That’s because it shares body design DNA with XPeng’s P7 sedan.
X2 is further along because AeroHT has been developing it much longer, as we’ve covered in the past. As AeroHT’s fifth-generation eVTOL, the X2 has completed over 3,000 test flights since its maiden takeoff in June of 2021, including its first public flight overseas in Dubai last fall.
XPeng founder He Xiaopeng has previously speculated that his dream of flying cars will begin with a small number of eVTOLs after 2024, followed by a much larger number of vehicles occupying the skies by 2030. With its latest permit, AeroHT looks to continue its tremendous progress overseas and bring scaled implementation of zero-emission flying cars to reality.
XPeng AeroHT’s X2 eVTOL gets first conditional permit
The company shared details of its latest certification in a WeChat post from China this morning, relaying that it has officially received a special flight permit from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). As a result, XPeng’s X2 is the first human-operated eVTOL to obtain the conditional permit in the entire country.
The licensed flight certification now allows AeroHT to fly under additional licensed conditions. XPeng’s eVTOL arm is wasting no time following the news, stating it will continue to conduct a series of crewed tests to accumulate data for continued research and development. The company said it will also continue flight testing on its way toward mass production.
This is another big step for XPeng AeroHT as it looks to use its latest certification with the X2 to support the development and production of the aforementioned X3. During XPeng’s latest update during its 1024 Tech Day event last fall, the actual flying car appeared closer to production than ever and is scheduled to launch in China sometime in 2024 for about RMB 1 million ($148,000).
We will see if that actually happens and at that price point, but for now, we can expect to see a lot more eVTOL flight footage out of XPeng AeroHT’s flying car test center in Guangzhou. In the meantime, here’s that footage of the sixth-generation flying car taking off publicly for the first time.
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After a month off trying to wrap our heads around all the chaos surrounding EVs, solar, and everything else in Washington, we’re back with the biggest EV news stories of the day from Tesla, Ford, Volvo, and everyone else on today’s hiatus-busting episode of Quick Charge!
It just gets worse and worse for the Tesla true believers – especially those willing to put their money where Elon’s mouth is! One believer is set to lose nearly $50,000 betting on Tesla’s ability to deliver a Robotaxi service by the end of June (didn’t happen), and the controversial CEO’s most recent spat with President Trump had TSLA down nearly 5% in pre-morning trading.
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Hyundai is getting ready to shake things up. A new electric crossover SUV, likely the Hyundai IONIQ 2, is set to debut in the coming months. It will sit below the Kona Electric as Hyundai expands its entry-level EV lineup.
Is Hyundai launching the IONIQ 2 in 2026?
After launching the Inster late last year, Hyundai is already preparing to introduce a new entry-level EV in Europe.
Xavier Martinet, President and CEO of Hyundai Europe, confirmed that the new EV will be revealed “in the next few months.” It will be built in Europe and scheduled to go on sale in mid-2026.
Hyundai’s new electric crossover is expected to be a twin to the Kia EV2, which will likely arrive just ahead of it next year.
It will be underpinned by the same E-GMP platform, which powers all IONIQ and Kia EV models (EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6, and EV9).
Like the Kia EV3, it will likely be available with either a 58.3 kWh or 81.4 kWh battery pack option. The former provides a WLTP range of 267 miles while the latter is rated with up to 372 miles. All trims are powered by a single electric motor at the front, producing 201 hp and 209 lb-ft of torque.
Although it may share the same underpinnings as the EV2, Hyundai’s new entry-level EV will feature an advanced new software and infotainment system.
According to Autocar, the interior will represent a “step change” in terms of usability and features. The new system enables new functions, such as ambient lighting and sounds that adjust depending on the drive mode.
It’s expected to showcase Hyundai’s powerful new Pleos software and infotainment system. As an end-to-end software platform, Pleos connects everything from the infotainment system (Pleos Connect) to the Vehicle Operating System (OS) and the cloud.
Pleos is set to power Hyundai’s upcoming software-defined vehicles (SDVs) with new features like autonomous driving and real-time data analysis.
As an Android-based system, Pleos Connect features a “smartphone-like UI” with new functions including multi-window viewing and an AI voice assistant.
The new electric crossover is expected to start at around €30,000 ($35,400), or slightly less than the Kia EV3, priced from €35,990 ($42,500). It will sit between the Inster and Kona Electric in Hyundai’s lineup.
Hyundai said that it would launch the first EV with its next-gen infotainment system in Q2 2026. Will it be the IONIQ 2? Hyundai is expected to unveil the new entry-level EV at IAA Mobility in September. Stay tuned for more info. We’ll keep you updated with the latest.
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Tesla has unveiled its lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cell factory in Nevada and claims that it is nearly ready to start production.
Like several other automakers using LFP cells, Tesla relies heavily on Chinese manufacturers for its battery cell supply.
Tesla’s cheapest electric vehicles all utilize LFP cells, and its entire range of energy storage products, Megapacks and Powerwalls, also employ the more affordable LFP cell chemistry from Chinese manufacturers.
This reliance on Chinese manufacturers is less than ideal and particularly complicated for US automakers and battery pack manufacturers like Tesla, amid an ongoing trade war between the US and virtually the entire world, including China.
As of last year, a 25% tariff already applied to battery cells from China, but this increased to more than 80% under Trump before he paused some tariffs on China. It remains unclear where they will end up by the time negotiations are complete and the trade war is resolved, but many expect it to be higher.
Prior to Trump taking power, Tesla had already planned to build a small LFP battery factory in the US to avoid the 25% tariffs.
The automaker had secured older manufacturing equipment from one of its battery cell suppliers, CATL, and planned to deploy it in the US for small-scale production.
Tesla has now released new images of the factory in Nevada and claimed that it is “nearing completion”:
Here are a few images from inside the factory (via Tesla):
Previous reporting stated that Tesla aims to produce about 10 GWh of LFP battery cells per year at the new factory.
The cells are expected to be used in Tesla’s Megapack, produced in the US. Tesla currently has a capacity to produce 40 GWh of Megapacks annually at its factory in California. The company is also working on a new Megapack factory in Texas.
Ford is also developing its own LFP battery cell factory in Michigan, but this facility is significantly larger, with a planned production capacity of 35 GWh.
Electrek’s Take
It’s nice to see this in the US. LFP was a US/Canada invention, with Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough doing much of the early work, and researchers in Quebec making several contributions to help with commercialization.
But China saw the potential early and invested heavily in volume manufacturing of LFP cells and it now dominates the market.
Tesla is now producing most of its vehicles with LFP cells and all its stationary energy storage products.
It makes sense to invest in your own production. However, Tesla is unlikely to catch up to BYD and CATL, which dominate LFP cell production.
The move will help Tesla avoid tariffs on a small percentage of its Megapacks produced in the US. Ford’s effort is more ambitious.
It’s worth noting that both Ford’s and Tesla’s LFP plants were planned before Trump’s tariffs, which have had limited success in bringing manufacturing back to the US.
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