The mobility sector has rarely played such a large role at CES, the most important IT and tech trade fair in the world. In addition to artificial intelligence, autonomous driving functions and some new cars, two unusual means of transport outshone the international competition. Xpeng Aeroht, a subsidiary of Chinese automaker Xpeng, is showing its new land aircraft carrier at the 2024 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The futuristic-looking vehicle is a modular flying car that is scheduled to go into series production as early as 2025. The hermaphrodite can switch back and forth between land and air mode variably and largely seamlessly.
The carrier’s ground module encloses the air module during transport on Earth, while the air module can decouple, allowing vertical takeoff for low-altitude flights. The vehicle itself offers space for four to five people, who can either disappear into the blue sky or get around on the ground with a 6×6 all-wheel drive and rear-axle steering, even off-road. After the Xpeng Aeroht Land Aircraft Carrier has gone through all relevant tests, the flying car is in the preparation phase for the upcoming mass production. “In 2013, we founded Aeroht and dreamed of flying cars,” says Tan Wang, co-founder and vice president of Xpeng Aeroht, “today, in 2024, that dream has become a reality. The future is here today, and the whole world is ready to fly!”
But the Chinese provider Xpeng is not the only one presenting a vehicle at the CES 2024 in Las Vegas that can launch itself into the airspace at the push of a button. Supernal, a subsidiary of the South Korean car giant Hyundai, is presenting its fully electric S-A2 aircraft in the shadow of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft can reach speeds of up to 190 km/h with its electric drive at a cruising altitude of 450 meters. In everyday operations, the aircraft will be used in urban environments for short and medium distances of up to 60 kilometers.
“Supernal’s product concept is the result of the creativity and hard work of our world-class team,” explains Ben Diachun, Chief Technology Officer at Supernal, “The S-A2 benefits from advances in electric propulsion that will define the next generation of aviation . From here, we will develop this concept into a revolutionary commercial product.” The S-A2 builds on the S-A1 concept model, which was already presented at CES 2020. Hyundai subsidiary Supernal has set itself the goal of establishing economic production for its aircraft that meet the safety standards of commercial aviation. However, the market launch is not planned until 2028.
When developing the aircraft, Hyundai designers incorporated their experience from developing particularly efficient electric cars into the S-A2. The S-A2 offers an electric propulsion architecture with eight tilting rotors. When taking off and landing, the flying car is as quiet as a dishwasher at 65 dB and whirs through the air at just 45 dB during normal flight. “The debut of the S-A2 demonstrates our unwavering commitment to achieve this goal with a safe, efficient vehicle design that paves the way to successful market entry,” said Jaiwon Shin, President of Hyundai Motor Group and CEO of Supernal.
