Well, that actually took longer than expected. No, not the actual introduction of the Tesla Cybertruck, but the first car that actually seems to be inspired by it. The car in question is the Xpeng AeroHT and it is crazy, in the best sense of the word. Despite the AeroHT’s very simple design, it is not a simple-lined vehicle like the Cybertruck.
You might be thinking that this is a concept car, and that is not a strange thought. But nothing could be further from the truth, because the Xpeng AeroHT is actually going into production. And yes, exactly as you see it in the images here, so with that helicopter on the rear deck. In fact, this is actually a commercial vehicle with a spacious cabin and lots of extra space behind it.
Is the Xpeng AeroHT coming to the Netherlands?
Normally we would say: impossible that this thing will come to the Netherlands, but we also did not consider it possible that it would actually go into production. So we do not dare to rule out that it will come to Europe, but at the moment Xpeng does not say anything about that. The Xpeng brand is active in the Netherlands, so there are possible dealers.
Standard helicopter on board (useful in traffic jams)
Technically, the helicopter in the back is an eVTOL drone. eVTOL stands for electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing. So you can take off and land again. Contrary to what you might expect, the Xpeng AeroHT is not an electric car. This Xpeng is a so-called EREV. So it is an electric car, but with a combustion engine on board for extra range. On a full battery and a full tank, it is possible to reach 1,000 kilometers.
Now, these are Chinese CLTC figures, and they are more positive than the sales forecast of Gordon’s new album. According to our WLTP method, it will not go as far. Unfortunately, there is not much information yet about the maximum power or performance, but that is often the case with commercial vehicles. It is more about what you can take with you (a helicopter) than how fast you can do it.
Xpeng AeroHT continues production
The most special thing is that the Xpeng AeroHT will go into production with the drone. Xpeng will deliver them as a set. In the summer of next year, Xpeng will warm up the assembly line to start production a few months later. The intention is to sell 10,000 units per year.
That’s quite ambitious, considering the price of over 250,000 euros. Now we have to admit honestly that we can’t quickly think of a competitor. Yes, maybe the Tesla Cybertruck, but that has an optional quad (at least, that was promised at the introduction). This device simply has its own helicopter. It doesn’t get much better than that.
