XPeng AeroHT handed over its first flying car, the ‘Land Aircraft Carrier’ (X3-F), to the United Arab Emirates at its mass-production plant on Oct. 20. Global Times and Huanqiu.com said it was the first time a unit fresh off a production line, rather than a static display piece, went straight into trial operation.
According to Huanqiu.com, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, a member of the UAE Federal Supreme Council and ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, led a delegation to XPeng AeroHT’s flying-car factory on Oct. 20. The group toured what the company calls the world’s first flying-car mass-production line and attended the rollout ceremony for the first aircraft bound for the UAE’s advanced low-altitude flight regulatory demonstration zone.
광고 문의 · 300×250The aircraft handed over was described as the ‘first test unit’. Huanqiu.com said earlier shows and demonstrations were mostly static viewings, whereas this unit came off a full production process and can enter trial operation directly. The report did not say how many aircraft the first batch contains.
A sandbox trial in the desert
The test aircraft will undergo sandbox trial operations under the supervision of UAE civil aviation authorities. A sandbox lets a new technology run in limited areas and conditions while rules are refined. Huanqiu.com said the two sides will next work on product certification, cross-emirate route planning and an operations system, paving the way for personal low-altitude flight in the Middle East.
The handover extends a trend from last year. Chinese outlets including Yicai reported that XPeng AeroHT held the first manned public flight demonstration of the Land Aircraft Carrier in Dubai on Oct. 12, 2025, and said it had signed agreements for a first batch of 600 units in the Middle East. At that time the company expected Middle East sales to begin in 2027 and planned domestic mass production and delivery for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Open questions and other views
Huanqiu.com presented the delivery as an example of China’s low-altitude economy going abroad. The company’s explanation is that the Middle East offers both an open policy environment and demand for new transport. Performance specifications, price, certification progress and the date of commercial service were not given in the report, and this newspaper could not verify them independently.
For flying cars to become real urban transport, aviation authorities in each country must first put certification, airspace management and safety standards in place. The UAE’s decision to open a test zone is read as a policy willingness to embrace new technology, but the pace of commercialization depends on operating data from the sandbox and certification results, which is the general view in the industry.