A flying car developed by Chinese company Xpeng AeroHT took to the skies over Dubai on Sunday in a scene that seemed straight out of Back To The Future.
The flight showcased the company's latest-generation model, the "Land Aircraft Carrier," which comprises a ground vehicle, referred to as the "mothership", and a detachable air module.
It’s called the Aridge.
The aircraft offers both automatic and manual flight operations. In automatic mode, pilots can plan routes, take off, and land with one touch, supported by 3D vision, alerts and landing assistance while in manual mode, a single-stick control system combines six operations into one joystick, allowing for one-handed control.
Aridge's advanced flight control system allows pilots to override autonomous functions while maintaining stable flight within safe parameters.
The air module includes fully redundant systems for propulsion, power, communications, and flight control, with automatic rotor failure response in milliseconds.
The car will cost under $270,000 in the Chinese market, according to a Bloomberg report. No price has yet been announced for the UAE.
Aridge’s consumer sales in the Middle East are expected to begin as early as 2027.
A long range A868 electric flying vehicle is also being designed for the business market, with a range of around 500km and a top speed of 360kph.
Xpeng AeroHT also announced 600 new orders from Gulf Cooperation Council companies, bringing its global pre-orders to over 7,000 units.
Zhao Deli, founder of Xpeng AeroHT, expressed strong confidence in the Middle East's future mobility market, highlighting Dubai's openness, robust market demand, and supportive government policies as key factors in selecting the city for the demonstration, reported Bloomberg.
Michael Du, vice president of Xpeng Aeroht, said the launch signalled a new era in passenger flight.
“Flying by itself is cool and I believe now the era of personal flying is taking off,” he told Bloomberg.
People might choose the vehicle to travel between Abu Dhabi and Dubai given the speed of the journey compared to by road, he added.
The UAE and other GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, have invested heavily in technology that makes flying air taxis a possibility.
American manufacturers Archer and Joby are due to launch commercial air taxi services in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively by 2026, reported Gulf News.
Flying cars are “the future of mobility,” Ali Al Blooshi, an official from Dubai’s civil aviation authority, told Bloomberg. “We expect them to become accessible and affordable soon as more companies enter the market.”