On March 8th, the reporter learned from Xiaopeng Huitian that the Xiaopeng Huitian Flying Automobile Traveler X2 successfully completed a low altitude flight in the "Tiande Square Guangzhou Tower" area of the urban CBD. The eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) concept showed active performance during trading, with gains approaching 2% at one point, led by concept stocks such as Wanfeng Aowei, Shangluo Electronics, and Guangyang Shares.
Further opening up the application scenario space of urban air traffic
It is understood that during this flight, Traveler X2 took off vertically from the super Grade A office building complex in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, and flew towards the iconic Guangzhou Tower through autopilot mode, crossing landmarks such as the Guangdong Provincial Museum, Flower City Square, and Haixinsha Asian Games Park in Guangzhou. Xiaopeng Huitian stated that the successful flight of Traveler X2 provides experience for the comprehensive promotion of low altitude economic application scenarios such as urban air transportation and low altitude tourism in the future.
The low altitude economy has become an important issue of concern for both national and local governments at all levels. This flight activity is led by the government and coordinated by enterprises to jointly promote the development of the low altitude economy and jointly build the low altitude industry chain ecosystem in Guangzhou. As a flying car research and development company, Xiaopeng Huitian is very concerned about the future application scenarios of its products. Through continuous exploration, we will promote the application of flying cars and quickly make them 'fly' into thousands of households Zhao Deli, founder and president of Xiaopeng Huitian, said.
The reporter learned that the Traveler X2 is a two seater manned flying car independently developed and produced by Xiaopeng Huitian. The entire body is made of carbon fiber materials that balance safety and lightweight, with a smooth and pure water droplet shape and good aerodynamic performance. The Traveler X2 successfully completed its maiden flight in June 2021 and conducted over 3000 test flights thereafter.
It is worth noting that in January this year, Xiaopeng Huitian announced that its Traveler X2 had officially obtained a chartered flight license issued by the Central and Southern Regional Administration of Civil Aviation of China. Traveler X2 became the first manned eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) product in China to apply for and successfully obtain approval. Xiaopeng Huitian stated that after obtaining the charter flight certificate for the Traveler X2, the company will continue to carry out a series of manned driving tests to accumulate data and experience in research and development, flight testing, and other aspects for the company's subsequent mass production products.
Public information shows that Xiaopeng Huitian is the largest flying car company in Asia and also an ecological enterprise of Xiaopeng Motors. According to IT Juzi data, in October 2021, Xiaopeng Huitian completed a huge financing of 500 million US dollars, with investors including IDG Capital, Wuyuan Capital, Xiaopeng Automobile, Sequoia Capital China, Zhongding Capital, Jiyuan Capital, Hillhouse Venture Capital, Yunfeng Fund, etc. Currently, Xiaopeng Huitian's valuation has reached 16.9 billion RMB.
Low altitude economy has become a hot topic of discussion during the two sessions, and the industry is poised to take off
In fact, with the increasing layout of low altitude economy by the country and various regions, the recent hot topics in the field of eVTOL have attracted many people's attention. Just at the end of February, eVTOL had successfully attracted a wave of attention. On February 27th, two eVTOLs took off from Shenzhen Shekou Port, one of which flew towards Zhuhai Jiuzhou Port, 50 kilometers away, compressing the travel time between Shenzhen and Zhuhai, which originally required more than two hours, into just 20 minutes. It is reported that this is the first public demonstration flight of the world's first cross sea and cross city eVTOL route, opening up a huge imaginative space for future intercity commuting.
This year's government work report proposes to actively build new growth engines such as biological manufacturing, commercial aerospace, and low altitude economy. How to develop low altitude economy has become one of the hot topics discussed by representatives and members of this year's two sessions. Reporters have found that at this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, multiple members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and National People's Congress representatives have brought proposals and proposals to accelerate the development of the low altitude economy.
For example, Yao Jianming, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and deputy chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the People's Republic of China, suggested the establishment of a "Low Altitude Economic Development Bureau" to coordinate and guide the development of the low altitude economy, and the establishment of a national mother fund for low altitude industries; Establish a sound low altitude economic policy guarantee system, accelerate the formulation and improvement of low altitude economic development plans, clarify the roadmap, compile low altitude digital airspace maps, and promote efficient allocation of low altitude resources; Accelerate the pilot legislation in low altitude airspace, standardize and guide the safe flight of various low altitude aircraft; The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area designates designated airspace to conduct pilot projects such as low altitude flight testing, environmental testing, skill competition, and commercial service simulation, and gradually promotes them when mature; Improve the dynamic monitoring and statistics of low altitude economic development, and enhance the scientific and precise nature of policy guidance.
National People's Congress representative and Chairman and CEO of Xiaopeng Motors, He Xiaopeng, also brought suggestions on promoting the application of flying cars and promoting the development of new quality productivity in low altitude economy at this year's two sessions. He Xiaopeng believes that as a completely new species, the corresponding product regulations and certification efficiency, as well as the current general aviation operating system, cannot meet the needs of the large-scale application of the new generation of flying vehicles.
Facing the blue ocean market of flying cars, He Xiaopeng proposed three development suggestions: first, clarify the top-level plan for flying car certification, increase investment in certification resources, and form a phased product certification path that can be implemented; The second is to establish an operational system for flying vehicles, supporting the large-scale application of products from multiple aspects such as driver qualifications, airspace, and operational management; The third is to refer to the development experience of the new energy vehicle industry, coordinate industrial development policies and resource guarantees, and promote the high-speed development of the aviation vehicle industry.