Xpeng showcases flying car in Germany, signaling mobility ambitions

Xpeng brought its flying-car ambition to IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich, using Germany’s biggest automotive stage to show a six-wheel Land Aircraft Carrier concept with a detachable air module. The company’s own event material framed the display under the banner “Leading the Future of AI Mobility,” alongside the European premiere of the Next P7 and the humanoid robot IRON.

The vehicle came through XPENG AEROHT, Xpeng’s flying-car subsidiary, which later coverage also identified as Aridge after a rebrand. The concept is built around a modular system: a ground carrier and a separate flying unit, designed as a step toward short-range urban air mobility rather than a conventional one-piece car. That distinction matters because the harder problem is not simply lifting off the ground. Makers still have to prove control systems, safety redundancy, noise management, charging infrastructure and a regulatory framework that can support public use.

Germany gave Xpeng a particularly visible platform for that pitch. Munich sits at the center of Europe’s auto industry, and a flying-car presentation there sends a message far beyond a trade-show floor. It places the company in front of an audience that expects rigorous engineering standards, while also signaling that Chinese EV makers intend to compete in the next phase of mobility as well as in battery-electric cars.

The company’s commercialization timeline has remained aggressive. Coverage has said Xpeng aimed to take pre-orders in 2024 and deliver its first flying cars in 2026. CNBC said in May 2024 that Xpeng aimed to deliver its first flying car in 2026. Later coverage said the subsidiary expected to start mass production the following month and begin deliveries in the second half of 2026, while also putting its order book at 5,000. CES 2025 coverage said Xpeng AeroHT had already received more than 3,000 intent orders.

Xpeng has been taking the concept around the world to build credibility before it becomes a commercial product. The Land Aircraft Carrier appeared at CES 2025 in Las Vegas and again at IAA Mobility 2025 in Munich, turning the flying-car race into a contest not just over engineering, but over timing, perception and industrial ambition. For now, the Munich debut looks like both: a real mobility milestone on a public stage and a calculated marketing move in a global competition that still has major regulatory and technical hurdles to clear.