Hong Kong Stock Concept Tracking | Flying cars ignite a trillion-dollar new market! Startups secure multi-billion-dollar deals, these domestic companies have already entered the game (with concept stocks).

Zhitong App learned that on March 4th, the American flying car startup Alef Aeronautics announced that the pre-orders for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft recently set a new record, with the order volume reaching 2,850 units. It is worth noting that SpaceX, backed by Elon Musk, is a major investor behind Alef Aeronautics. Alef's two-seater flying car, Model A, obtained legal flight permission in the United States in July last year. Priced at a whopping $300,000, the total order value for Alef has now exceeded $850 million. Flying cars, combining the functions of cars and aircraft, can travel on land and fly in the air. Due to their unique advantages in multiple fields and immense development potential, countries are increasingly focusing on them. Flying cars have become a focal point of research worldwide, potentially sparking a great technological revolution. The most representative flying car at present is eVTOL, attracting a range of startups, traditional car and aircraft manufacturers. By the end of 2022, there were over 300 global eVTOL aircraft development companies, including Joby, Archer, Wisk, Lilium, EHang, Peak Flying, and ShiDe Technology focusing on the eVTOL field; traditional aviation giants like Boeing, Airbus, Bell, and Embraer have also joined or shown interest in this area; numerous car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Hyundai, XPeng, Geely, and internet giants like Tencent are also making moves in the eVTOL sector. Recently, the domestic flying car industry has seen continuous positive developments. In October 2023, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued a type certificate for EHang's intelligent EH216-S model manned unmanned eVTOL. In December 2023, EH216-S received the Civil Aviation Administration's standard airworthiness certificate, becoming the world's first eVTOL aircraft to receive an airworthiness certificate. In December 2023, the Central Economic Work Conference emphasized the development of strategic emerging industries such as biomanufacturing, commercial aerospace, and low-altitude economy. The introduction of the "Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Flights," the successful test flight of EHang's intelligent aircraft, and Peak Flying's "Shengshi Long" global first flight across cities and bays have injected confidence into the market. Several major financial institutions are also very optimistic about the future market space for flying cars. According to forecasts from consulting firms such as Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, and Roland Berger, the global market size for flying cars will reach $300 billion by 2030, surpassing $1 trillion by 2040, with 98,000 flying cars cruising the skies of major cities worldwide by 2050. Guotai Junan Securities pointed out that as an important exploration of the next generation of transportation, flying cars have seen global automotive and technology companies entering the field in recent years, jointly promoting technological iteration and progress. Since 2021, domestic policies in China have been continuously increasing support for flying cars. Starting in 2023, there is a clear timeline for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and flying cars, with plans for pilot operations by 2025 and new energy aircraft becoming mainstream by 2035. With the iterative development of technology and increasing regulatory support, the future development of flying cars is expected to accelerate, and the application scenarios will continue to expand. Related Concept Stocks: XPeng-W (09868): On January 10th, at the 2024 CES exhibition, XPeng's co-founder and vice president Wang Tan announced that the company's modular flying car "Land Carrier" will open for reservations in the fourth quarter of this year and is scheduled to start mass production and delivery in the fourth quarter of next year. Geely Automobile (00175): Geely's subsidiary, Volocopter, has completed the maiden flight of the 5-seater eVTOL AE200. At the end of July last year, Volocopter signed an exclusive strategic cooperation agreement with Hualong Airlines in Chengdu, as well as a purchase agreement for 100 AE200 aircraft. Guangzhou Automobile Group (02238): On June 26th last year, at the 2023 GAC Tech Day, GAC Group's flying car GOVE made its debut and conducted its maiden flight. EHang Intelligent (EH.US): EHang Intelligent is a global leading urban air mobility technology company. The EH216-S unmanned autonomous passenger aircraft system has been granted the standard airworthiness certificate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and has been officially delivered.