Gasgoo Munich- Flying cars have the potential to drive industrial clusters worth trillions to tens of trillions of yuan, according to recent authoritative reports. As strategic products that integrate deeply with new energy vehicles and smart equipment, they are emerging as vital tools for fostering new quality productive forces and building a modern, three-dimensional transportation network.
Under the "15th Five-Year Plan" recommendations, the low-altitude economy has been designated a national strategic emerging industry. Data indicates the market scale reached 670.25 billion yuan in 2024 — a 32.5% annual surge — with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) projecting it will exceed 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. From the first mass-produced unit rolling off the line in Guangzhou's Huangpu district to the first manned verification flight in downtown Chengdu, and with players like XPENG AEROHT and GAC GAOYU accelerating their presence, flying cars are shifting from concept validation to the eve of commercialization.
Policy Boost, Market Lift-Off
In March 2026, the government work report explicitly defined the low-altitude economy as an "emerging pillar industry," placing it alongside integrated circuits and artificial intelligence. A revised Civil Aviation Law, taking effect July 1, 2026, introduces a dedicated chapter on "development promotion" for the first time. It clarifies classification and management rules for low-altitude airspace, establishing a precise regulatory framework for new business formats like eVTOLs.
Local authorities are moving even faster. In January 2026, Shanghai unveiled measures targeting a core industry scale of 80 billion yuan by 2028. Currently, more than 50% of the country's top eVTOL players have clustered there. Shenzhen plans to build over 1,200 low-altitude takeoff and landing points and more than 1,000 commercial routes by the end of 2026, ensuring landing facilities cover over 50% of built-up areas within a one-kilometer radius. Data shows that in 2025, China registered over 25,000 new enterprises related to the low-altitude economy — a 162.36% jump.
Image Source: Huaban
On the technology front, solid-state batteries are becoming a critical breakthrough for eVTOL commercialization. A flying car powered by a high-energy solid-state battery has already successfully crossed the Qiongzhou Strait. Su Qingpeng, CEO of GAC GAOYU, noted that solid-state batteries are an inevitable path for development; since flying cars have a higher tolerance for costs than ground vehicles, adoption becomes viable even with small-scale production. The Chinese eVTOL market is projected to expand to 9.5 billion yuan in 2026.
CAAC data indicates that 19 unmanned aircraft models have completed type certification domestically, with more than 70 emerging aircraft types currently under review. By the end of 2025, the number of registered drones nationwide reached 3.287 million, with cumulative flight hours exceeding 45.3 million.
Corporate Race and Real-World Applications
Automakers are the most active force in the commercialization of flying cars. XPENG AEROHT's "Land Aircraft Carrier," a modular flying car, had secured over 7,000 orders by the first quarter of 2026, with total financing approaching $1 billion. In March 2026, XPENG AEROHT completed trial production runs and multi-aircraft test flights at its Guangzhou Huangpu plant. The facility has a planned annual capacity of 10,000 units, capable of rolling out one aircraft every 30 minutes at full capacity.
Image Source: XPENG AEROHT
Additionally, Aerofugia's AE200-100 is a six-seat tilt-rotor eVTOL with a maximum range of 200 kilometers. It is the first company in the transport category to enter the fourth phase of airworthiness certification, with certification expected in 2026. In February 2026, Aerofugia completed a financing round of nearly 1 billion yuan and submitted filings for STAR Market IPO guidance to the Sichuan Securities Regulatory Bureau in early April.
Image Source: GAC Motor
On May 29, 2026, GAC GAOYU's Guangzhou Huangpu plant officially opened, marking the rollout of the first mass-produced GOVY AirCab. With a designed annual capacity of 100 units, the company has secured nearly 2,000 intended orders worth over 3.3 billion yuan, and expects to complete the certification process by the end of 2026. EHang, the first company globally to secure all "four certificates" for an autonomous eVTOL, achieved its first quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of 2025.
In terms of real-world applications, the Bailuwan area in Chengdu's Jinjiang District completed the first manned verification flight in a main urban center on February 13, 2026. An eVTOL hovered steadily at 80 meters for ten minutes before landing safely. Bailuwan is advancing a "Smart Flight Center" hub project that integrates takeoff and landing, dispatch, maintenance, and operational scenarios. Meanwhile, the Laboratory of Surveying and Remote Sensing at Wuhan University has mapped China's first urban low-altitude flight chart — the Wuhan "Sky Road" — planning 700 routes with a total length of 4,000 kilometers and 2,000 takeoff and landing points.
Conclusion
From policy breakthroughs to corporate racing, and from technological leaps to real-world deployment, China's flying car industry is undergoing a systematic rise. Yet, as an emerging sector that blends aviation safety with the logic of automotive mass production, the challenges are just as clear: lengthy airworthiness certification cycles, an air traffic management system that still needs refinement, the gradual task of building public trust, and high initial operating costs.
As experts note, developing the low-altitude economy cannot focus solely on the supply side; it must verify genuine market demand through scenario exploration. The release of this industry's broader ripple effects will depend on the continuous optimization of three fundamental variables: safety, regulation, and cost.
