Aridge invited media into a new factory in Guangzhou this week and showed about 20 aircraft at various stages of production as it validates the manufacturing process behind its flying cars ahead of planned deliveries later this year.
The 120,000-square-meter plant, which Aridge says is the world’s first modern assembly line for flying cars, is built to turn out 10,000 units a year and is organized around a 30-minute takt time. Inside, workers were assembling roughly a dozen carbon fiber bodies and another eight units, a snapshot of a line that the company says is moving from development into production-intent manufacturing.
At the center of the operation is the Land Aircraft Carrier, a two-part modular package that combines a six-wheeled, three-axle ground vehicle with a detachable two-seat eVTOL aircraft. The ground vehicle runs on an 800-volt extended-range electric platform with more than 1,000 km of total range, while the air module is a six-rotor all-electric aircraft with a carbon fiber fuselage and dual-ducted rotors. Aridge says the aircraft carries about 50 kWh of battery capacity, weighs around 700 kg and has energy density above 255 Wh/kg.
The company says the ground vehicle can recharge the aircraft from 30% to 80% in 18 minutes and that the system supports five to six complete flights before the vehicle needs a top-up. Flight controls use a four-axis single-joystick system, and Aridge claims most people can reach basic flight proficiency within about 10 minutes. The aircraft tops out at roughly 90 km/h, and the full package is priced at around 2 million yuan, or about $300,000.
The Guangzhou tour came after Aridge raised $200 million in March and as it works toward what it calls the next stage of commercialization. The subsidiary has accumulated about 7,000 pre-orders and is targeting customer deliveries toward the end of 2026. Xpeng has also announced plans to take Aridge public, adding a market deadline to a project that is still proving it can build, charge and assemble flying cars at scale.
For now, the factory is the clearest sign that Aridge wants to be judged less as a concept and more as a manufacturer. Last year, the reporter saw an early prototype that was described as rough. This week’s tour showed a more polished operation, but the hard part remains the same: turning a striking machine into something that can leave the line, fly reliably and reach customers on schedule.