HT Aero, an affiliate of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng, has entered into a definitive agreement with a consortium of investors to raise over $500 million for its Series A capital funding.

HT Aero is developing three-dimensional, smart and sustainable urban air mobility solutions for individual consumers. Since its foundation in 2013, it has developed five generations of electric-powered manned flying vehicles.

“Our mission has always been to explore efficient, safer and carbon-neutral mobility solutions that go beyond smart EVs," says XPeng chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng. "What we are seeing is the integration of the three driving forces of smart mobility; disruptive technology, new sources of energy and mass production. The investment in HT Aero will further accelerate the build-up of our ecosystem to integrate driving and flying.”

HT Aero founder and president Deli Zhao adds: “The Series A financing will provide us with sufficient resources to advance our research and development, acquire top-tier talent and to continue to gain airworthiness provision and certification. Our next-generation model will be a fully integrated flying vehicle and automobile, designed for both low altitude air travel and road driving. We are planning for an official roll-out in 2024.”

HT Aero has a team of 500 professionals from multiple disciplines including industrial design, structural mechanics, embedded systems, aerodynamic simulation, integrated avionics, manned flight test, flight control, autonomous driving, airworthiness and safety. Over 80 per cent of its professional expertise is focused on R&D. Headquartered in Guangzhou, the company has R&D centres and laboratories located in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Silicon Valley and R&D flight tests and compliance verification flights are conducted in Panyu, Guangzhou.