The electric flying cars take off and land vertically, and the company is hoping to sell them for around £220,000 each. But two crashed into each other as they took part in an airshow rehearsal
Two flying cars crashed into each other at a rehearsal for an air show, which was meant to be a demonstration of what the technology could do.
One of the plans was seen catching on fire as it landed after the mid-air collision. One person was injured although the company said all spectators were safe during the rehearsal for the Changchun Air Show, which is still set to go ahead later this week in north-east China.
Footage on Chinese social media site Weibo appeared to show a flaming vehicle on the ground which was being attended to by fire engines. The car company Xpeng AeroHT which owned both the vehicles said in a statement to CNN that one vehicle “sustained fuselage damage and caught fire upon landing”.
The statement went on: “All personnel at the scene are safe, and local authorities have completed on-site emergency measures in an orderly manner.”
The electric flying cars take off and land vertically, and the company is hoping to sell them for around £220,000 each. In January, Xpeng claimed to have around 3,000 advanced orders for the vehicle. It is already one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electric vehicles in the world, recently expanding into Europe.
Xpeng is attempting to replicate the success it has had with EVs, by pushing early adoption of a tech that will eventually become widely used, according to analysts. It has said it wants to lead the world in the “low-altitude economy”.