Benzinga | Oct 19, 2021 06:40AM EDT

XPeng Raises $500M Via Series A Funding Round Of Affiliate Flying Car Company HT Aero

XPeng, Inc. (NASDAQ:XPEV)'s affiliate HT Aero has successfully completed its first significant round of venture capital financing.

What Happened: HT Aero, an urban air mobility company, said Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement with a consortium of investors to raise over $500 million in Series A capital funding.

The funding round was led by XPeng, along with IDG Capital and 5Y Capital, while Sequoia China, Eastern Bell Capital, GGV Capital, GL Ventures, and Yunfeng Capital were the other participants.

"The Series A financing from a consortium of high-quality investors is a strong testament to the Company's long-term vision, technology roadmap, and its market-leading R&D capability as a prominent player in one of the most promising and disruptive technologies of future mobility," HT Aero said in a statement.

The company added that it would be the largest single-tranche fundraising to date in Asia's low-altitude flying vehicle sector.

Related Link: 5 Key EV Headlines You May Have Missed This Week

Why It's Important: HT Aero expects the Series A financing to provide us with sufficient resources to advance its R&D, acquire top-tier talent, and continue to gain airworthiness provision and certification.

"Our next-generation model will be a fully integrated flying vehicle and automobile, designed for both low-altitude air travel and road driving. We are planning for an official roll-out in 2024," said Deli Zhao, founder and President of HT Aero.

Guangzhou-based HT Aero focuses on developing three-dimensional, smart, and sustainable urban air mobility solutions for individual consumers.

Since its founding in 2013, it has developed five generations of intelligent electric-powered manned flying vehicles. The flying vehicle sector will be a trillion-dollar market, according to IDG Capital, a lead participant in the funding round.

Meanwhile, XPeng sees the investment as a means of integrating driving and flying.

"The investment in HT Aero will further accelerate the build-up of our ecosystem to integrate driving and flying," said He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng.

Price Action: In premarket trading, XPeng shares were up 0.86% at $43.58.

Related Link: What This Analyst Likes About Q3 Deliveries Updates From XPeng and Nio