Xpeng Aridge X3-F flying car 2026: certification status and factory capacity

Aridge's X3-F eVTOL has cleared a compliance checklist from China's aviation regulator CAAC, a step toward type certification. A factory built for 10,000 units a year is already running.

Author: Dmitry Novikov

22:05 22-07-2026

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The flying module X3-F from Aridge, part of the Xpeng ecosystem, has moved a step closer to earning a Chinese type certificate. According to CnEVPost, regulators have agreed a compliance checklist for the aircraft — a document that spells out which calculations, ground tests and flight trials the developer must complete to prove it meets safety requirements. This is not the certificate itself, nor approval to carry passengers commercially.

China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) accepted the type certificate (TC) application back in March 2024. In March 2025, the regulator published special conditions for the X3-F, since standard aviation rules didn't account for the design of a compact piloted eVTOL. The project is now in the stage of actually demonstrating compliance with those requirements.

Separately, Aridge is undergoing a review of its production system. The production certificate (PC) application was accepted in May 2025. That document confirms a factory can build every unit to the approved design, though handing over an actual aircraft to a customer will still require an individual airworthiness certificate.

SPEEDME.RU previously reported on the launch of the Land Aircraft Carrier line in Guangzhou. The 120,000 sq. m plant is designed to build up to 10,000 units a year, with one vehicle able to roll off the line every 30 minutes at full capacity.

The Land Aircraft Carrier consists of a three-axle, six-wheel ground carrier and a detachable two-seat flying module. The ground unit is built on an 800-volt platform with a range extender and can travel more than 1,000 km. It can charge the eVTOL module while parked or on the move. The complex is expected to cost no more than 2 million yuan.

Aridge has already collected more than 7,000 pre-orders, and SPEEDME showed the road carrier and air module at the Guangzhou auto show. Still, a production line and a customer queue are no substitute for aviation certification. The real milestone remains the TC: only once every check is complete can the X3-F move from mass production to lawful operation.