A Chinese electric car company has unveiled a new flying car that it says will be in mass production by 2024.
The low altitude flying car, Xpeng X2, is created by Xpeng and can be driven on roads as well as at a low altitude. Xpeng has already received almost half a billion dollars in investment to take the project forward.
The X2 flies using rotor blades that are retracted when the car is on a normal road, and which expand for flying. It can stay in flight for around 35 minutes.
Xpeng Chairman, He Xiaopeng, told journalists:
"Our exploration of more efficient, safer, carbon-neutral mobility solutions goes far beyond just smart EVs, and is the cornerstone of our long-term competitive advantages."
Xpeng plans to sell the electric vehicles (EVs) for around $150,000 US, which is drastically lower than the price that is being tipped for most other flying cars entering the market, over $500,000 US each.
While there is early enthusiasm for flying cars, the Xpeng is not the first on the market. Other car companies have so far developed flying cars on the basis that they will be used as taxis in urban settings. A Japanese company early this year announced that it planned to have a flying car taxi service in place across Tokyo by 2025. It is not clear in what capacity Xpeng anticipates that its cars will be used.
The major drawback for flying cars is that they must, for safety reasons, be piloted by trained pilots within strict settings. It can't at this time be imagined that individual citizens will be able to purchase a flying car and fly it in a normal public setting. That said, the ability to travel rapidly across a major city without taking other slower forms of public transport could revolutionise how we live our lives, and it is therefore possible that the future market for electric flying cars will be huge.
Xpeng makes regular electric cars as well and is already being tipped as a competitor in the market with the US-based Tesla car company.
[Based on reporting by: Business Insider]
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