Did You Know there are Flying Cars in China?

Rose Odette
Nov 6
5 min read

What It Is

Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) is blurring the line between car and aircraft with its flying-taxi-meets-autonomous-vehicle concept. Picture this: you step into a sleek road vehicle, it drives you out of the city, then seamlessly detaches a flight pod that lifts off vertically and carries you through the sky. GAC’s prototype — part of its new “Govy” line — merges two worlds: a ground chassis for road travel and a flight pod for air transport. The pod packs 12 propellers, 12 electric motors, and enough range (around 200 km) to make quick intercity hops a reality. The road module even drives itself back to base while you’re mid-flight. That’s mobility, version 3.0.

💡 Why It Matters Flying Cars in China

This concept flips our idea of “commute” on its head. It’s no longer about cars vs. planes — it’s about fluid, continuous movement. The promise of a “one-click journey” means you’ll eventually book a single ride that transitions from driving to flying without any hand-offs, transfers, or waiting. It’s exactly what urban planners dream of in smart-city blueprints: less congestion, fewer emissions, and more adaptable infrastructure. Beyond convenience, it redefines how humans connect — shrinking cities, expanding opportunities, and unlocking faster access to remote areas - Flying Cars in China.

⚠️ What To Watch

Cool ideas meet real-world roadblocks fast. Flying cars like GAC’s “Govy AirJet” demand new infrastructure, regulation, and safety frameworks. Where do these things take off? Who controls their airspace? What happens when something goes wrong mid-flight over a populated area? Governments will have to juggle automotive and aviation standards simultaneously — a bureaucratic nightmare, but a necessary one. There’s also the cost factor; early versions will be expensive to produce and operate. Expect years of testing before we see mass adoption, but make no mistake — the foundation is already being laid.

🚀 The Bigger Picture

Beyond the flashy tech, this idea hints at a much deeper shift: mobility without boundaries. As we merge air and ground travel, traditional transport categories fade. Think of border checkpoints, delivery logistics, even immigration systems — all of it changes when vehicles can rise above traffic and skip terrain. The “one-click journey” could redefine how nations manage flow and access, pushing legal systems, city design, and sustainability planning to evolve. It’s the spark of a new era where your morning commute might include a takeoff.

Founder Spotlight: Su Qingpeng (苏庆鹏)

Role: Founder/CEO of GOVY (GAC’s flying-car unit) and previously head of flying-car R&D at the GAC Research Institute. Public materials list him as CEO of GOVY at key launch events; trade coverage and Chinese press name him as the brand’s founder. What he’s building: A staged roadmap from a modular, roadable Govy AirCar (detachable flight pod) to dedicated eVTOLs (AirJet, AirCab). The approach lets GOVY validate operations and demand with simpler corridors (tourism/demos) before scaling to autonomous, longer-range services.

Where It Is

the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) sits in southern China, wrapping around the Pearl River Delta. it includes:

9 mainland cities in Guangdong Province — Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing.
2 Special Administrative Regions — Hong Kong and Macao.

geographically, think of it as a cluster around the Pearl River estuary, with Hong Kong and Macao on the south edge and Guangzhou and Shenzhen up north. it’s about 56,000 square kilometers total (roughly the size of Croatia), with over 86 million people.

Backstory & milestones (highlights):

2023: Team shows early multi-rotor “GOVE/Govy AirCar” concept; first public demo of the flight pod taking off from the car chassis at Zhuhai Airshow 2024. CarNewsChina.com
Dec 18, 2024: GAC launches GOVY brand; unveils AirJet (hybrid/compound wing). CnEVPost
Jun 12, 2025: AirCab global debut in Hong Kong; pre-orders open. PR Newswire+1
2025–2026: AirCab enters airworthiness process; deliveries targeted by end-2026 (with pilot operations in the Greater Bay Area before that). CnEVPost+1
2027 goal: Demo operations in 2–3 cities. AGN

Credible public trail: GOVY/GAC press items list Su Qingpeng among launch dignitaries; coverage in CNEVPost/Yicai quotes him as head of flying-car R&D / GOVY lead; Vertiflite/EVTOL.news lists him as founder. (Chinese-language interviews further describe his shift from R&D lead to brand founder/CEO.)

Go-to-Market: How GOVY Plans to Commercialize

1) Start with contained, high-visibility routes

Low-altitude tourism and demo corridors in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area—lower regulatory complexity, strong government backing for “low-altitude economy,” and dense demand. CnEVPost+1

2) Parallel tracks: roadable + pure eVTOL

AirCar proves the drive+fly experience and ground logistics; AirJet and AirCab pursue higher-utilization air-taxi missions, with AirJet aimed at ~200 km hops and AirCar for ~20 km, creating a tiered network. electrive.com

3) Early revenue + credibility via pre-orders and pilots

AirCab pre-orders at ~RMB 1.68–1.69M; pilot ops commence before full deliveries (target end-2026), building data for certification and ops. CarNewsChina.com+1

4) Industrial leverage

GOVY taps GAC’s supply chain, right-hand-drive capabilities (for HK), and EV know-how, while incubating a dedicated aerial brand with its own certification and ops stack. gacgroup.com

5) Certification & autonomy

Airworthiness is explicitly underway; published targets include reservations/production setup (AirJet) and demo ops by 2027. Autonomy is core to the thesis (AirCab billed as “autonomous multirotor flying car” for mass production). CarNewsChina.com+1

6) Market sequencing

Sequence: tourism/demos → short-hop air taxi → scaled urban/regional air mobility as pads, UTM (unmanned traffic management), and battery density improve. GOVY statements mirror this 3-stage view. Yicai Global

Ideals & Actions

Ideals

Seamlessness as a right: Mobility should be fluid, borderless, and accessible with a click.
Human time as the ultimate currency: The goal is not faster tech but freed time.
Sustainability by design: Every innovation must reduce congestion and emissions, not add to them.
Courage to blur categories: When car meets plane, law and infrastructure must evolve too.

Actions

Invest in mobility infrastructure that enables multi-mode transition pads.
Push policy dialogue on air autonomy and cross-border airspace governance.
Build cross-disciplinary alliances (engineering + law + urban planning).
Educate public perception through storytelling and transparent testing.
Anchor innovation to human benefit — less “look what we built,” more “look what we freed.”