XPeng Starts Constructing Flying Car Manufacturing Base In China Even As Elon Musk's Tesla Is Yet To Start Production Of New Roadster That Can 'Fly'

XPENG AEROHT, an affiliate of XPeng Inc. XPEV said on Sunday that it has commenced constructing a flying car manufacturing base in Guangzhou, China, in a significant step towards its vision of manufacturing flying cars on a large scale for low-altitude urban travel.

What Happened: The upcoming plant, AEROHT said, is dedicated to making the air module of the modular flying car called Land Aircraft Carrier. It is designed with a projected annual capacity of 10,000 units spanning 180,000 square meters.

AEROHT recently completed the inaugural manned test flight of the Land Aircraft Carrier air module. It is expected to have its global public flight debut at the China Airshow on November 12, with pre-sales beginning by year-end.

The new vehicle has two parts- a ground module and an air module, with the ground module housing the aerial component for ground transportation. The two parts can automatically separate and combine.

AEROHT is the flying car unit of EV company XPeng.

Why It Matters: Tesla Inc. TSLA, meanwhile, intends to start production of the new Roadster in 2025. The sports car will be a tribute to Tesla's first EV – the limited-production original Roadster produced by the company between 2008 and 2012.

In June, Musk said that the Roadster could “fly,” thanks to a collaboration between Musk’s two companies- Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX- to provide incredible performance. In February, Musk said that the upcoming Tesla Roadster can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 1 second, lower than the company’s initial estimate of 1.9 seconds.

Earlier this month, Musk also said that the company is close to finalizing the design of the vehicle.

The new generation Roadster prototype was showcased at the end of the event dedicated to unveiling the Tesla Semi on November 16, 2017. Tesla then said the vehicle would be available starting in 2020 and priced around $200,000. However, the production timeline for the vehicle has been pushed several times since.

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Photo courtesy: XPENG AEROHT