XPeng AeroHT’s ‘modular flying car’ will enter mass production, pre-orders begin in Q4
During a press event held during CES in Las Vegas, XPeng’s electric aviation business arm AeroHT shared new details regarding two of its “flying cars.” In addition to live demonstrations of its eVTOL flying supercar, XPeng AeroHT shared that its modular “Land Aircraft Carrier” will enter mass production.
AeroHT is an eVTOL-focused entity of XPeng Inc., majority-owned by the company and its founder He Xiaopeng. Since 2013, AeroHT has conducted tens of thousands of safe flights en route to developing and implementing electric flying vehicles at scale.
Its mobility sibling, XPeng Motors, has delivered some impressive technology in its own right, but many would argue that AeroHT’s technology is even more exciting. During XPeng’s annual 1024 Tech Day event in 2022, AeroHT introduced its seventh generation flying car. Others have used that term loosely, but this prototype is a genuine EV that drives, deploys propellers, and can take off into the sky.
2023’s Tech Day brought the debut of two new “flying car” designs, including a revamped version of the flying supercar mentioned above. New to the AeroHT family was a 6×6 all-wheel drive EV that houses an eVTOL aircraft in its rear. That vehicle has come to be known as the “Land Aircraft Carrier,” and according to news from XPeng and AeroHT in Vegas today, will enter mass production in 2025.
XPeng AeroHT’s flying car carrier to begin pre-orders in Q4
During a press event held live at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, XPeng AeroHT shared significant updates on the progress of its “flying car” technology. First, the Land Aircraft Carrier in the featured image above has been slotted for scaled production in 2025.
Before then, however, the company will open pre-orders for the modular EV/ eVTOL combo beginning in Q4 of this year. Described by its makers as “not another mere concept,” AeroHT shared that the Land Aircraft Carrier has already completed all necessary tests during its R&D validation phase and has now begun the preparation stage for mass production.
While XPeng AeroHT states the final design of the “flying car” is still in development, it should feature the following specs if and when scaled production begins:
- Ground Module (BEV)
- Accommodates 4-5 passengers.
- Extended-range electric powertrain can recharge the eVTOL air module multiple times.
- Three-axle, six-wheel configuration enables 6×6 all-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering.
- Air Module (eVTOL)
- Fully-electric piloted aircraft capable of vertical takeoff/landing and low-altitude flights.
- Its electric propulsion system meets single-point failure safety requirements.
- The eVTOL supports manual and autonomous flight modes.
- A 270° panoramic two-person cockpit offers a wide field of view.
Despite pre-orders in the pipeline, XPeng AeroHT is not sharing precisely what its Land Aircraft Carrier “flying car” will cost. XPeng founder He Xiaopeng said the carrier would be priced in the RMB 1 million segment ($140,500). We will learn more concrete pricing once the company debuts its final design.
In addition, the scaled production of the eVTOL carrier, XPeng AeroHT, also wowed the CES crowd with its international debut and a live demonstration of its flying supercar. The EV transitioned into flight mode – deploying its rotor-equipped arms before completing a successful vertical takeoff and landing.
When XPeng AeroHT introduced the sixth generation of the flying car during 1024 Tech Day 2021, it was expected to arrive sometime in 2024 and cost less than RMB 1,000,000 (~$156,600). However, that no longer seems to be the targeted arrival as the electric aviation arm’s production focus appears set on the Land Aircraft Carrier, at least for now.
That isn’t to say we won’t see this genuine flying EV reach production someday, and given today’s live demo, it appears more feasible than ever. For now, however, our sights are set on Q4 2024, when Land Aircraft Carrier pre-orders begin.
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Environment
Toyota the EV battery supplier? Honda will use them to power up its 400,000 hybrids in the US
Toyota is now a battery supplier? That’s the plan. Honda will use Toyota’s batteries to power up its around 400,000 hybrids sold in the US.
Toyota will supply batteries for Honda hybrids in the US
Toyota’s $14 billion battery plant in North Carolina is ready for business. The facility will begin shipping out batteries next month, and it looks like Toyota already has its first customer.
According to a new Nikkei report, starting in fiscal 2025, Toyota will supply batteries for the roughly 400,000 Honda hybrids sold in the US.
Honda currently uses batteries from China and Japan for vehicles sold in the US, but the company is (like most) preparing for changes under Trump.
Honda’s electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, accounted for over a quarter of US sales last year. The company sold over 308,500 hybrids and 40,400 electric vehicles in the US in 2024. The batteries will likely be used in the CR-V and other Honda hybrid vehicles.
Earlier this month, an extra 10% tariff on imports from China took effect. And that’s on top of the 10% imposed in February.
With more expected, including a 25% increase in vehicles imported from Japan, automakers are tightening up their supply chains.
A 25% tariff on Japanese vehicles, up from 2.5% currently, is estimated to cost the six major Japanese automakers about $20 billion in the US.
Tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada could cost Honda roughly $4.7 billion alone. Teaming up with Toyota to use its batteries for its hybrids is part of Japan’s broader global plans to ween off dependence on China and others for batteries and other emerging tech.
The new US plant, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMC), is over seven million square feet, or about the size of 121 football fields.
As Toyota’s first in-house battery factory outside of Japan, the plant could be a game changer as Trump’s tariffs take effect. Securing Honda as a buyer will already help Toyota cut costs as it ramps up output.
Toyota plans to ramp up electrified vehicle (EV, PHEV, and hybrid) sales in North America from around 40% last year to 80% by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
Trump’s tariffs are already causing havoc, with nearly every automaker warning that they put the US further behind. Overseas automakers are not the only ones feeling the heat, either.
The “Big Three,” GM, Ford, and Jeep maker Stellantis all build vehicles in Canada and Mexico. GM cut output at its plant in Mexico in January, where the electric Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Honda Prologue are made. Stellantis halted operations at its Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada last month, where it was expected to launch the Jeep Compass EV production. What’s next?
For Toyota, it looks like its $14 billion bet to build batteries in the US is already paying off. Now, we just need it to introduce more EVs.
After unveiling three new electric SUVs in Europe last week, including the updated bZ4X, Toyota hinted more is on the way for the US. Check back soon for updates.
What do you think? Do you want to see more Toyota EVs in the US, like the new C-HR+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Environment
If Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, Tesla needs stores and service in red states
Elon Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, but if that’s the strategy, the automaker should start with having stores and service centers in red states and rural areas.
It’s no secret that Elon Musk’s approval ratings with progressives have been plummeting over the last few years and even more so in the previous few months.
Since he has control over Tesla and he is the only official spokesperson since he let go of the PR department in 2020, the CEO is dragging the automaker along for the ride.
This is a problem for Tesla as Democrats are much more likely to buy electric vehicles than Republicans:
Tesla’s sales have been crumbling over the last few months, and after the stock crashed 15% last Monday, President Trump held a controversial commercial for Tesla with Musk on the steps of the White House on Tuesday.
A day later, it was reported that Musk plans to give Trump another $100 million in political donations.
It was an apparent attempt to try to promote Tesla to Trump’s fans: conservatives.
Based on a Tesla inventory check and new order delivery timeline, we reported that the Trump ad appeared to have little to no impact on the demand for Tesla vehicles.
It could be that people see through Musk and Trump’s quid pro quo and, therefore, don’t value Trump’s “Tessler” endorsement seriously. Still, there’s also a more practical reason why Trump’s fans and conservatives generally don’t buy more Tesla vehicles: the locations of Tesla’s stores and service centers (hat tip to Ben).
Even if some Trump fans were interested in buying a Tesla after the White House commercial last week, they might have been turned off by the idea of having to drive several hours to a store or service center.
Tesla does not have stores or service centers in Alabama, Arkansas, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, or Wyoming.
In some cases, it’s not entirely Tesla’s fault, as some of these states have laws against Tesla’s direct sale models. They force automakers to go through third-party franchise dealerships. This is an abuse of old state laws aimed at protecting dealers against unfair competition from the automakers they represent.
Car dealer lobbies use their influence on state legislatures to use these laws to block Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and other automakers who never had franchise dealerships from operating their own stores and service centers.
But on top of not having locations in several red states, Tesla also primarily has locations in urban areas, whereas conservatives disproportionally live in rural areas.
The automaker has several dead zones and doesn’t operate locations in smaller cities and towns where there are several Ford, GM, Toyota, and other car dealers:
While it certainly does happen, it’s hard to convince someone to buy a car if they have to drive several hours to pick it up and have it serviced.
Electrek’s Take
In short, it’s not only harder to convince conservatives, on average, to buy an electric vehicle, but Tesla is also not correctly set up to sell and service cars in conservative regions of the US.
Though, I think that’s a small part of the problem.
Cars are not supposed to be political.
Even if Tesla successfully converted a significant percentage of conservatives to electric vehicles, it wouldn’t stop the company’s brand destruction.
Tesla’s reputation amongst Democrats and independents has sharply decreased over the last few years, and especially over the last few months, and that’s thanks to Elon Musk alienating them.
It’s tough to be a successful consumer product company when you have alienated 50% or so of your market.
Tesla is basically becoming the MyPillow of Trump’s second term.
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