Chinese startup Xpeng raises $500 million for flying car project

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Chinese startup Xpeng raises $500 million for flying car project

BEIJING Reuters - Xpeng Inc., a startup with Chinese electric scooter maker HT Aero, reported Tuesday that it raised more than $500 million for its latest funding round in China.

The startup was founded in 2013 and previously Xpeng Heitech raised the new money from IDG Capital, 5 Y Capital, Xpeng and others in this funding round, it said in a statement.

HT Aero said it would use the funding to expand technologies and develop its workforce. It aims to release a flying car model, which would be able to drive on road, to customers in 2024.

HT Aero did not reveal its valuation after the round of funding.

Companies from start-ups to global carmakers are racing to test commercial flying robo-taxis hoping to cash in on a market that Morgan Stanley believes will be worth $1.5 trillion by 2040.

Other automakers that are developing flying cars in Wuhan include Geely's Terrafugia, which has a factory in the central city of China. Volkswagen is also studying the industry in China.

The regulators in China have yet to detail rules on flying vehicles however.