Guotai Junan released a research report saying that the American company Alef Aeronautics successfully completed the test of the prototype of its flying car Model A in an urban environment, and successfully realized a series of actions such as vertical take-off and landing and jumping over obstacles, which is expected to further accelerate the commercialization process of low-altitude economy. At the same time, domestic car companies are actively entering the flying car market, and are expected to rely on their own technical strength and manufacturing advantages to promote the flying car from concept to commercial application.

Guotai Junan's main views are as follows:

Land driving and flight functions are both, or a new direction for low-altitude economic development

Similar to a regular car, the Model A can drive on city roads and achieve vertical take-off and landing, with hidden propellers and a mesh carbon fiber body, taking into account the car's styling and flight stability. When fully charged, Model A has a range of up to 177 kilometers horizontally and 322 kilometers on the ground. At present, domestic eVTOl OEMs mainly use a single vertical take-off and landing function, excluding land driving functions, and the Model A's dual functions of land and air are of great significance, breaking through the limitations of the single function of traditional transportation vehicles, and providing technical support for the transformation of future travel modes.

Costs are expected to continue to decrease and commercialization accelerates

Model A received the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) special airworthiness certification in July 2023, and has been invested by Musk's SpaceX, etc., and has received 3,300 pre-orders, showing the market's strong expectations for flying cars, which are scheduled to be officially produced and delivered in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a price of about 300,000 US dollars (about 2.17 million yuan). With the maturity of aircraft manufacturing technology and the prominent scale effect after mass production, the cost is expected to continue to decline, and Alaf is currently developing a second flying car, Model Z, which is expected to start at about US$35,000 (about 254,000 yuan), and is scheduled to be released in 2035. In the future, after the cost of aircraft decreases, the price will attract more ordinary consumers and truly enter the public life.

Domestic car companies are actively deploying flying cars, and the industrial technology and ecology are constantly improving

In addition to professional eVTOl host manufacturers such as EHang, many domestic car companies are actively participating in the low-altitude economy, such as Xpeng Huitian's "Land Aircraft Carrier" is scheduled to be delivered in 2026, GAC Group has released the flying car brand "GOVY Gaoyu", which plans to launch airworthiness certification in 2025, Changan Automobile is expected to release a flying car in 2026, Geely Holding's Wofei Changkong AE200 is in the test flight stage, and Chery's three-body composite wing flying car has successfully made its maiden flight. Car companies are expected to rely on their own technical strength and manufacturing advantages to promote the gradual implementation of flying cars from concept to commercial application by relying on their own technical strength and manufacturing advantages.

Subject matter

OEMs: the beneficiary targets are Wanfeng Aowei (002085.SZ), Zongheng (688070.SH), Sunward Intelligent (002097.SZ); Power system: the beneficiary targets are Yingbo (300681.SZ), Wolong Electric Drive (600580.SH), Zongshen Power (001696.SZ), and Yingliu (603308.SH); Flight control system: the beneficiary targets are Zongheng Communication (603602.SH) and AVIC Airborne (600372.SH); Air traffic control system: the beneficiary targets are RICE Information (688631.SH) and Sichuan Kyushu (000801.SZ).

Risk Warning

1) The industrialization process of low-altitude economy is less than expected; 2) The implementation of industrial policies is less than expected.