Xpeng Flying Car Raise

HT Aero, the flying car company backed by Chinese electric carmaker Xpeng ($XPEV@China), raised more than $500 million from outside investors.The money will be put toward research and development and rolling out a new model that has the ability to operate in the air and on roads. The company’s next-generation model, which has a planned rollout in 2024, will be a fully integrated flying vehicle and automobile, designed for both low-altitude air travel and road driving. In July, HT Aero launched the X2, its second flying car prototype and the first that’s able to carry a passenger. Flying cars — also called electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles — have garnered a lot of interest from automakers and start-ups. Companies including South Korea’s Hyundai ($HYMTF@S.Korea), German start-up Lilium ($LILM@Germany) and China-based Ehang ($EH@China) are developing flying passenger vehicles. Such vehicles face a number of hurdles to get off the ground including regulatory approval to operate.