XPeng’s X2 Flying Car to Make Maiden Public Flight in Dubai

XPeng Aeroht, a flying car company owned by XPeng Motors, announced on September 30 that its X2 model has conducted rigorous assessments under the supervision of the Dubai Civil Aviation Administration, successfully passing a specific operational risk assessment, and that it has recently obtained its first overseas public flight permit in Dubai. From October 10 to October 14, the X2 will also debut at the 42nd GITEX GLOBAL exhibition and conference.

X2 is the fifth-generation flying car developed and manufactured by XPeng Aeroht. It adopts a closed cockpit for the first time, forming a waterdrop shape. It has a sci-fi appearance and takes into account high-efficiency aerodynamics to achieve efficient performance during flight. In order to make it lightweight, X2 adopts a carbon fiber structure.

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The flying vehicle can carry two passengers and is suitable for low-altitude flights in urban scenarios in the future. It can also serve scenarios such as field rescue and medical transportation. At present, X2 supports two driving modes: manual driving and automated driving. During automated driving, passengers only need to press one button to start, return, land, and other simple operations.

The specific operational risk assessment passed by X2 this time is based on the SORA (specific operations risk assessment) method proposed by JARUS (the Joint Authorities for the Rulemaking of Unmanned Systems). In the early stage, XPeng Aeroht integrated the technical data of X2’s development team, formulated the operation concept and operation manual of X2 demonstration flight with reference to the international standard model, evaluated the operation risk, and completed the risk mitigation plan with the assistance of the Sanad Academy and Dubai Civil Aviation Administration to ensure the safety of public flight.

X2’s approval marks the first time that a Chinese manned driverless flight vehicle has completed an operational risk assessment overseas, and XPeng Aeroht has become the first enterprise in Dubai to pass the assessment for a heavyweight flight vehicle. After approval, X2 is planned to carry out a public flight demonstration in Dubai, which will be the first public flight demonstration overseas after its public appearance in July 2020.

In addition, a few days ago, XPeng Aeroht registered official changes with China’s Industrial and Commercial Administration: He Xiaopeng withdrew from the position of chairman, Zhao Li withdrew from the position of director, and Zhao Deli was changed from director and general manager to executive director and manager. The registered capital of the company increased from $250 million to $320 million.

Regarding this change, He Xiaopeng, the cofounder and chairman of XPeng Motors, responded, “XPeng Aeroht is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HT Flying Car. I am the chairman of HT Flying Car, which can speed up work efficiency. I will share the latest progress of our flying cars with the public on XPeng 1024 Tech Day.”