Aviation technology China: Brand spring for flying cars

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Once again, a new brand name must be remembered in China. This time for a flying car. "GOVY" is what the Chinese car manufacturer GAC calls its new eVTOL brand, which was officially unveiled on December 18.

Henrik Bork, a long-time China correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Frankfurter Rundschau, is Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a consultancy specializing in China based in Beijing.

Simultaneously with the new brand, GAC introduced the concept of the first model. It is called "GOVY AirJet" and is more of an aircraft than a car, resembling a cross between a small airplane and a drone with a passenger cabin. GAC hopes to obtain the necessary approvals as early as 2025 and begin building a factory for it. The launch of the new brand is the latest example of how quickly the new "Low-Altitude Economy" is developing in China.

Use as an air taxi

The English abbreviation eVTOL stands for "Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Aircraft," referring to aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter—but they operate completely electrically and quietly. GAC refers to GOVY as a new brand for "flying cars," as they anticipate the first phase of commercialization of eVTOLs—apart from logistics—primarily through their use as air taxis, which will travel at an altitude of around one kilometer and transport passengers, for example, from the airport to the city center or perhaps to a nearby city.

So far, no one has succeeded in commercializing a truly dual-purpose vehicle, suitable for both road and air travel, as a mix between a car and an airplane. However, this is more due to regulatory hurdles in this new frontier of mobility rather than technological challenges.

Greetings from James Bond

Xpeng Aeroht, the eVTOL brand of the electric car startup Xpeng, perhaps comes closest to this vision at present, since it introduced its "Land Aircraft Carrier," where an aircraft ascends from the trunk of a transport vehicle like in a James Bond movie. The GAC Group introduced its first eVTOL named "Gove" in 2023, which has since been renamed "AirCar." This creation still consists of a base distinctly reminiscent of a car, an electrically described chassis, from which the aircraft detaches when needed to ascend vertically and fly away.

More device than car

With the first model AirJet of the new GOVY brand, GAC now takes a step away from the vision of the "car that can also fly" and introduces an electric aircraft that, while it can roll a bit like an airplane, clearly requires suitable landing and charging spots for its use and is not designed for road traffic. GAC calls its new creation a "flying car" more because the term has caught on and because eVTOLs are most conceivable as air taxis for commercial operators, fulfilling all regulatory requirements before they can eventually also take over individual transport.

The new GOVY AirJet is designed for flights with a length of around 200 kilometers, which it can travel at a maximum speed of 250 km/h. This targets a different market niche than the previous GAC model AirCar, which is intended for distances of around 20 kilometers.

Authorities are working on approval procedures

The Chinese government has made it clear that it has high hopes for the Low-Altitude Economy. Various authorities are working to quickly create the necessary standards and approval procedures. Besides their use as airport shuttles, Beijing is particularly considering the transport and logistical support of sparsely populated regions in the north and northwest of the country, as well as the use of eVTOLs in disaster rescue, agriculture, and tourism for sightseeing with a "wow effect."

Demand there

A market, most observers agree, is definitely there. By 2030, Luo Jun, the director of the recently established "China Low Altitude Economic Alliance," expects the emergence of a new economic sector contributing more than three million yuan, which is around 390 million euros, to the gross domestic product.

Xpeng Aeroht has already started building a production line for its "Land Aircraft Carrier" and aims to begin mass production in 2026.

According to its own statements, the Chinese company Aerofugia, a subsidiary of car manufacturer Geely, has already sold 100 units of its eVTOL named AE200 to an air taxi company.

Investments in eVTOLs

In August 2024, the battery manufacturer CATL invested several hundred million yuan in the eVTOL company Autoflight. However, the next new eVTOL brand will probably be announced by Changan Automobile, which is also betting on a future full of "flying cars" in the sky.

According to its own statements, the German materials manufacturer Covestro from Leverkusen, formerly "Bayer MaterialScience" until 2015, has just agreed on a strategic partnership with "Guangdong GOVY Technology Co., Ltd.," the manufacturer of the new GOVY AirJet.

New materials in focus

New materials are of immense importance to make eVTOLs ever lighter and their batteries more powerful. The partnership is an example of the many opportunities that arise from the development of the low-altitude economy in China for the German industry as well.

The prices for eVTOLs, which are still quite high at the moment, are expected to fall rapidly in China in the coming years. For alleviating the chronically congested roads in China and achieving ambitious climate goals, eVTOLs are undoubtedly useful. Insiders in China predict that it will only be a few years before the first eVTOLs are flying back and forth over the rooftops of major Chinese cities. So, you'll soon have to remember a whole new set of brand names. (se)

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