May 22, 2024

 

(FIRST FLYING VEHICLES TO BE DELIVERED IN 2026)

May 22, 2024

 

Hello everyone,

Xpeng AeroHT, an affiliate of Xpeng, aims to deliver its flying car to customers in 2026.

In 2023, Xpeng AeroHT introduced the Land Aircraft Carrier – a large truck with a flying two-seater passenger electric drone inside.  The flying car can detach from the truck, and people can then get into the drone and fly it.

Brian Gu, co-president of Xpeng is confident about its uptake.  He argued that this vehicle is not for use in urban centres, but mainly for the outskirts in scenic areas.  He went on to say that “we will work with municipalities to create flying parks and flying zones that allow people to enjoy flying without the hassle of getting all the complicated approvals.”

Xpeng stated that the flying car is currently going through a certification process with the Chinese aviation regulator.

It’s been made clear that passengers will not require a special license to fly the drone for initial use.

The company is using leisure and sports-related use cases for the initial use of that flying device.  Of course, if you move closer to an urban area then you do need special licenses.  Securing approval gets complicated then.

Robotics and flying cars are part of Xpeng’s long-term goal.

 

 

Most people don’t use the term “flying car”, rather the acronym, eVTOL is used, which stands for:

electric

vertical

Take

Off and

Landing

Interestingly, more than 400 companies and innovators have registered eVTOL designs and they have attracted billions of dollars in funding over the last decade. Amongst the investors are famous people including LinkedIn co-founder, Reid Hoffman, and musician, WILL.I.AM, and  F1 champion, Nico Rosberg.

Companies investing in this space include Uber, Airbus, Toyota, and American Airlines among others.

If forecasts are correct the eVTOL market will grow from $ 1.2 billion in 2023 to $22.4 billion in 2030.  That equals an annual average growth rate of 52%.

 

 

To reach that target, companies need to work with regulators – the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the US Federal Aviation Administration, and the European Union Safety Agency have laid out various certifications these vehicles will need to meet before taking to the skies.

Type certification- refers to the model design.

Production- Regulators will also want oversight on the production of the vehicles.

Operational Authorization - Pilots may need a special license to operate them.

Air Traffic Infrastructure – how do we fit these vehicles into the skies?

Infrastructure is also paramount – eVTOLS will need a place to take off and land and recharge.

Microscale airports have been proposed. 

The final barrier to this industry taking off is public acceptance.  eVTOLS won’t truly take off until people feel comfortable stepping into one.

 

Portfolio Update

Take profits on

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Innoviz

Technologies                  INVZ                                     12/13/23                      $2.30                         $1.15

 

 

Cheers,

Jacquie