HT Aero, an urban air mobility (UAM) company in which China-based EV manufacturer XPeng is an investor, unveiled future urban usage scenarios for its fifth-generation flying vehicle XPeng X2, including autonomous flight take-off and landing for specific city scenarios, back-end scheduling, charging and flight control.

In its first debut at an aerospace exhibition, X2 will be shown on 28 September at the 13^th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China 2021) in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.

X2 is equipped with a robust, intelligent flight control system and autonomous flying capability, the ability to conduct autonomous flight route planning, all-round real-time imaging, real-time flight monitoring, two-way real-time communications, all-round environmental perception and autonomous return and landing. It is powered by a charging system leveraging XPeng’s supercharging technology.

The X2 has an user-friendly interface with one-key start, one-key return, and one-key landing, significantly reducing burdens for the user.

Before take-off, the system performs intelligent autonomous flight route planning based on the destination entered by the user, comprehensively evaluating factors such as surrounding buildings, no-fly and restricted areas, and weather conditions.

The XPeng X2 is the latest generation flying vehicle independently developed by HT Aero, having conducted more than 15,000 safe, manned flights. X2 is a pure electric two-seater enclosed-cockpit flying vehicle and an exploration of an aircraft-car integration with significantly improved effective load, passenger number, exterior design and flight control system than the previous generation.

X2 adopts a closed cockpit for the first time, with styling that shares the design language of the XPeng P7. X2 also takes into account high-efficiency aerodynamics to optimize flight performance.

With a full carbon-fiber structure, X2 weighs 560 kilograms (empty aircraft with battery) and has the maximum take-off weight of 760 kilograms with a capacity of two passengers. It can cruise at a maximum design speed of 130 kilometers per hour and has a range of 35 minutes at a designed flying height of under 1,000 meters, suitable for low-altitude urban flight scenarios.

Powered purely by electricity, X2 has no carbon dioxide emissions during flight, in line with the company’s goal of green urban transportation. With 130 km/h, X2 can meet the needs of short-distance urban transportation, and can serve in scenarios such as air patrol, field rescue, and medical transportation.