Sept. 26 (UPI) — A Chinese auto maker revealed an electric flying vehicle at the 2020 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition Saturday.
The car, dubbed the Kiwigogo, can carry up to two passengers and is designed to flow at altitudes between 16 and 82 feet, according to Xpeng Motors, the Alibaba-backed manufacturer that produced the car.
It has eight propellers and a small, capsule-like frame.
Xpeng, a startup with $1.7 billion in investment capital that raised another $1.5 billion at its initial public offering in August, is considered an emerging rival to Tesla in the electric vehicle market.
The company said the Kiwigogo is the first in a series of electric flying vehicles it’s developing as part of a long-term research and development that includes research into mapping technologies.
“We think in the future not only electric vehicles will have the smart mobility autonomous driving features, but with other technology, enable other devices that can create a multi-dimensional ecosystem, that will be very exciting,” said Brian Gu, vice chairman and president of Xpeng. “That’s why we are investing in that area, and doing some exploration.”