China Leads The Global Flying Car Race, Ready To Dominate The Sky

JAKARTA - So many challenges and regulations globally hinder the progress of the flying car sector to take off. However, Chinese companies are now changing the landscape. They are taking advantage of the rapid development of drones and electric vehicles (EVs) in the country with the second-largest economy in the world, while utilizing the government's full support for this futuristic innovation.

China is considered to have the potential to build a strong competitive advantage over all countries in the flying car segment.

Launching the france24 page, Monday, December 1, Zhang Yangjun, a professor from the School of Vehicle and Mobility at Tsinghua University, stated that future competition will depend more on cost control and supply chain efficiency. According to him, these two areas are clear advantages for China.

The real progress is now visible at the Aridge plant, the arm of Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng, at the heart of the Guangzhou southern industry. They are currently producing "Land Aircraft Carrier" modular flying vehicles of six light propellers and can take off vertically. The facility has started production testing phases in early November and Aridge plans to start shipping next year, after claiming it has received more than 7,000 orders.

However, there is a long way to go before flying cars can fly in the air every day. Michael Du, Vice President of Aridge, highlighted that regulations, consumer convenience in products, airspace management, and supply chains, all need to follow gradually. On the other hand, global competition is heating up, where Tesla CEO Elon Musk, even teased the debut of a flying car prototype in a few weeks which he said was crazier than all the James Bond cars combined.

The concept of flying cars was first introduced by American aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1917. However, new successful designs have become possible in recent years as electric motors and high-performance batteries progress. Currently, global major players, including Joby and Archer (US), as well as Aridge, EHang, and Volant (China) have conducted manned flight tests. EHang has even become the world's first fully approved flying car company for commercial operations this year, and plans to introduce air taxi services at prices similar to premium street taxis within three years.

Seeing this long-term potential, Beijing has set a "low-altitude economy" that includes flying cars, drones and air taxis" as strategic areas for the next five years. The provincial government from Guangdong to Sichuan has promised to relax restrictions. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report predicts China's flying car market is approaching a "critical reflection point" and is expected to be worth $41 billion by 2040.

Unlike other international markets struggling to find viable business models, China is considered to have a strong foundation. Brandon Wang, a Beijing-based investor, stressed that China is well ahead of the EV supply chain, a component that can be used for flying cars after being certified for flights. In addition, China also has an "archist dividend" that allows its company to quickly resolve technical issues in the production process.