Chinese EV maker Xpeng is turning heads with a vehicle that blurs the line between van and aircraft, bundling a battery-powered people mover with its own flying machine in the back. The concept, called the Land Aircraft Carrier, is a six-wheeled electric van that carries a deployable personal aircraft designed for short, low-altitude hops. Xpeng claims the project is past the pure concept stage, with pre-production under way and plans to start building customer vehicles later this year.
The van itself is a long, six-wheel EV with an extended-range powertrain, which combines an electric drive system with a generator to deliver up to about 965 km of driving on a single charge. It is configured with four seats and coach-style rear doors, and the aircraft sits in a sealed compartment at the back, where it can be stored and charged between flights. The idea is to let owners drive to the edge of a city or a scenic spot, then switch to the air to avoid traffic or reach more remote areas.
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The flying part of the package is a six-rotor electric aircraft developed by Xpeng's subsidiary Aridge. It is designed to carry one person, take off and land vertically, and operate either autonomously or with inputs from the pilot. When not in use, the rotors fold away so the aircraft can slide into the van's cargo bay, where it is recharged by the vehicle's own systems. Xpeng says the entire deploy-and-stow process is automated, relying on one-touch controls to get the aircraft ready for flight.
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Xpeng is treating the Land Aircraft Carrier as a serious production program rather than a one-off showpiece. The company claims that around 7000 customers in China have placed orders, and executives in Europe say their factory is prepared to build the model once regulatory hurdles are cleared.
Aviation rules remain a big unknown: authorities still have to decide what kind of license a buyer would need, and how to classify an aircraft that effectively lives inside a van. Even so, Xpeng's leadership has gone as far as asking its management team to learn how to fly the craft, a sign that the brand expects at least some customers to use both parts of this unusual combo in the real world.