Workers assemble XPENG Aridge's "Land Aircraft Carrier" at the company's production plant in Guangzhou on November 3, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of XPENG Aridge

XPENG Aridge has begun trial production at its flying car plant in Guangzhou, marking the launch of the world's first mass-production line for flying cars. Its factory's debut model — a modular "Land Aircraft Carrier" that combines a ground vehicle with a detachable air module — has completed its first trial assembly, with mass production and deliveries expected in 2026, the Global Times learned from the company on Wednesday.

"XPENG Aridge aims to begin mass production and delivery of its flying car in 2026," Zhang Xuehui, the company's brand communications director told the Global Times on Wednesday. "The Guangzhou plant is now in the trial production stage — we haven't yet begun full-scale manufacturing, as we'll need to obtain both airworthiness certification and production qualification before official mass production starts."

Zhang said the current trial-production models are mainly for flight testing and performance verification. "Our flying car is designed for both individual users and potential public-service scenarios," she said, noting that personal users can experience aerial sightseeing or leisure flights, such as in scenic campsites.

Unlike other brands that focus more on business or institutional clients, XPENG Aridge's product targets individual consumers, she said. "Our 'Land Aircraft Carrier' adopts a split design — a car combined with a flying module — giving it a completely different user logic from pure-flying models on the market," Zhang explained.

She added that XPENG Aridge has not yet held a formal presale event event. "We're still in the early reservation phase with limited reservation slots for interested buyers. The final price hasn't been set, but it will be under 2 million yuan ($281,000)," Zhang said. "We plan to officially launch presales after obtaining the necessary certifications and starting mass production, and to achieve large-scale production and delivery in 2026."

XPENG Aridge's Huangpu district plant began trial production on November 3, with its first "Land Aircraft Carrier" unit rolling off the line. The milestone markedthe completion of the world's first mass-production line for flying cars and the launch of the first factory to use a modern automotive-style assembly system for large-scale flying car manufacturing, the company said in a statement to the Global Times. 

The 120,000-square-meter facility focuses on producing the flying module. It has a planned annual capacity of 10,000 units, with an initial output of 5,000, and can produce one aircraft roughly every 30 minutes when fully operational, according to the company.

As of October, XPENG Aridge's "Land Aircraft Carrier" had received about 7,000 orders, according to XPENG Motors. The customers include both corporate and individual buyers, with about 90 percent of the orders coming from within China, with the rest overseas, the company told the Global Times.

As more global companies race to enter the flying car sector, industry competition is heating up. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently hinted that Tesla could unveil a flying car "in a couple of months," according to a Fox Business report on November 2.