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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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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