Middle East Buyers Sign for 600 Xpeng Land Aircraft Carriers

While conducting a demonstration event this week that included flying the aircraft portion of its Land Aircraft Carrier in Dubai, Xpeng AeroHT signed purchase agreements for 600 of the eVTOL aircraft and car combination. The aircraft consists of the X3-F air module and a six-wheeled van-like ground vehicle that carries the X3-F to suitable locations for flight. Parent company Xpeng manufactures electric cars.

Xpeng AeroHT, which has rebranded as Aridge, previously flew a demonstrator eVTOL aircraft—the X2—in Dubai in 2022. According to Aridge, the October 20 X3-F flight made it “the first Chinese flying car company to obtain permission for an overseas manned aircraft flight.” The X2 flight presumably wasn’t crewed; at the time, Xpeng did not say that a pilot was onboard the two-seat aircraft.

The purchase agreements were signed with Ali & Sons Group in the UAE, Almana Group of Qatar, Kuwait’s Alsayer Group, and the Chinese Business Council in the UAE. The 600-aircraft order brings Aridge’s total preorders to more than 7,000 aircraft.

A factory in Guangzhou, China, that can produce up to 10,000 units per year is complete, according to Aridge, and it expects to begin deliveries of the Land Aircraft Carrier in 2026.

China’s CAAC accepted Xpeng AeroHT’s type and production certificate applications in March 2024, in the light sport aircraft category under Chinese Civil Aviation Regulations Part 21. This category and draft special conditions would restrict the aircraft to daytime visual flight rules for private recreational use and flight training, with no approval for commercial passenger transport.

However, it is not certain how this certification status will translate to certification in the UAE and other countries. In any case, UAE certification would be required before the Aridge aircraft could carry passengers in the country, and Aridge has not yet applied for UAE certification. “The specific timeline can only be determined after the formal application is submitted and further discussions are held with the local authority,” according to an Aridge spokeswoman.

Aridge, which stems from the combination of the words “air” and “bridge,” is intended to acknowledge “the company’s founding vision of connecting the sky and the earth and of making flying as accessible as driving. The rebrand signifies the company’s transition from a pioneering R&D phase to large-scale commercialization and international expansion,” according to the company, although certification in China and other countries will be a prerequisite.

There are no specifications listed for the X3-F on the Aridge website, but it does say that the aircraft will have a single-lever flight control and claims that this is the first such control system. This isn’t accurate, since many eVTOL aircraft and Skyrye’s SkyOS platform have been flying with single-lever flight controls for years. The van has a charging system that will charge the X3-F’s batteries while driving and parking. A full charge for the X3-F will allow six flights, but Aridge does not provide any information as to how long these flights will last, the speed of the aircraft, or how far it can fly.

Aridge is also developing the A868 tiltrotor eVTOL with a hybrid-electric powertrain. The six-seat A868’s projected performance includes a range of more than 300 miles and speed topping 223 mph.