How China is making its dream of flying cars, drones and sky cities come true

Policy, financial and infrastructural support is creating a conducive ecosystem for China’s ‘low altitude economy’, integrating advanced aerial tech into everyday life and urban planning

Gerui Wang

Published: 4:30pm, 19 Jan 2024

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The CES 2024 consumer electronics show in Las Vegas last week mesmerised tech observers from around the world with more than 4,000 exhibitors, from start-ups to tech giants. Over 1,000 companies were from China, demonstrating the country’s impressive contributions to global technology.

In particular spotlight was China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry, after China was recently crowned the world’s largest car exporter, accounting for about half of global EV sales. At the tech showcase, Xpeng astonished with its “flying car”, the AeroHT eVTOL.

Built sleekly in the shape of a sports car, with propellers that unfurl, the futuristic vehicle evoked visions of flying vehicles seen in films such as Star Wars and The Fifth Element. The model, thought to be years away from broad use, completed a successful test flight in October 2022.

At CES, Xpeng also showcased its Land Aircraft Carrier, which comes with a separate aircraft that launches from the car, for which the company will take pre-orders in the fourth quarter this year, with deliveries to start a year later.

The Chinese government is keen for companies to continue making leaps in flying vehicle technology and last year announced a “green aviation” development plan, including for electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, or eVTOL. This is part of an official strategy to support a “low altitude economy”.

The low-altitude economy refers to a comprehensive realm of industries centred around civil-manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, including manufacturing, low-altitude flight operations and integrated services.

Xpeng launched its modular Land Aircraft Carrier, which comes with a separate aircraft that launches from the car. Photo: Handout

China’s green aviation plan presented actionable items to boost the innovation and deployment of flying cars. Important measures include setting up economic demonstration zones and test bases for low-flying aircraft. The plan includes the construction of infrastructure to integrate flying vehicles into urban transport and the daily commute.

While US flying car companies such as Kittyhawk (backed by Google founder Larry Page) shut down in 2022 due to commercialising and scaling difficulties, China’s policy support is fostering a more conducive ecosystem for nascent technologies like this to advance and benefit society.

Xpeng’s AeroHT eVTOL, for instance, unlike other flying vehicles such as by German company Volocopter and Hyundai’s Supernal, which was showcased at CES 2024, can transform between terrestrial and aerial modes.

While the inventions by Volocopter and Supernal resemble personal helicopters, Xpeng’s AeroHT eVTOL has propellers that emerge in flying mode and fold into the car’s body after use. This allows it to navigate road traffic and fit into a standard car park space.

People view the XPeng AeroHT “modular flying car” at the CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 11. Photo: AFP

Another factor that enhances the research and development of flying cars in China is close public-private collaboration. For instance, in 2021, the Guangdong government invested 500 million yuan (US$70 million) in Xpeng. Guangdong’s Zhaoqing city has also supported Xpeng’s expansion, last year signing an investment agreement for a project worth 2 billion yuan. This type of financial and infrastructural support creates a nurturing ecosystem that enables Chinese EV makers to quickly transform concept cars into mass products.

China has highlighted the low-altitude economy as a core industry, deserving of special attention, at its annual central economic work conference last month, together with artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green energy, biomedicine and private space flight. The vision is for China to address its economic challenges by investing in technology and industry, unlocking the country’s growth potential.

In addition to flying cars, drones are another area of China’s low-altitude economy that promises to revolutionise its agriculture, delivery services, emergency responses and more. Already, Shenzhen, China’s hi-tech hub, has declared plans to build itself a “city in the sky”.

China’s DJI is the world’s largest drone manufacturer with 70 per cent of the global market share. Its drone technology has helped in the automation of farming, including planning, sowing, weeding, watering and monitoring crop growth. Food delivery platform Meituan, for example, has embraced drones, speeding up its commercial transactions and slashing its labour cost. In 2022, the drone industry in Shenzhen alone generated a market value of 75 billion yuan.

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Drone food deliveries take off in China’s tech city, Shenzhen

Shenzhen is building a grid of over 600 landing/take-off stations for low-altitude aircraft from by 2025. This will facilitate their deployment and reduce operational costs for companies. Infrastructural support is essential in this industry, especially when the aim is to promote widespread public usage.

With more companies developing flying cars and other low-altitude aircraft in China, industry regulation is also maturing. This year, Shenzhen announced China’s first regulations over the low-altitude economy. Effective from February 1, these regulations aim to standardise the construction of low-altitude flight infrastructure, coordinate the management of low-altitude airspace and flight services, and set safety standards.

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They stipulate the construction of a low-altitude flight service platform, providing services like flight approval applications, intelligent flight monitoring and message alerts to units or individuals conducting low-altitude flight activities.

The fierce market competition in China’s EV industry has certainly contributed to the industry’s exponential growth. But China’s institutional support also plays a role in quickly making hi-tech advancements accessible to ordinary citizens, and not just a few privileged individuals.

Although there are still gaps between the big cities and the underdeveloped areas, China’s policy principle that new technologies should improve people’s lives and livelihoods makes for a promising future.

The development of China’s low-altitude economy could serve as an inspirational model for the world, showing the potential for the integration of advanced aerial technologies into everyday life and urban planning.

Gerui Wang is a visiting scholar at Stanford University