(Yicai) Sept. 17 -- At least one passenger was injured after two electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft developed by the flying car unit of Chinese new energy vehicle startup Xpeng Motors crashed into each other during a rehearsal for the Changchun Air Show in China's northeastern Jilin province.

"At the Changchun Air Show rehearsal this afternoon, two eVTOLs participating in the formation flight exercise collided due to insufficient flight distance," Xpeng Aeroht said yesterday. "One landed safely, while the other caught fire upon landing due to body damage.

"All on-site personnel were safe, and competent agencies have completed the on-site handling work orderly, with the specific cause for the accident still under investigation," Xpeng Aeroht noted.

The injured passenger was taken to a hospital and is not in danger, Yicai learned.

Established in 2013, Xpeng Aeroht focuses on the research and development of modular flying cars, tiltrotor flying cars, and eVTOLs. The eVTOL model at the show can make five to six flights on one full charge and has a 270-degree panoramic cabin, adopts a single lever control design, and flies at an altitude of 300 to 500 meters.

In addition, Xpeng Aeroht's Land Aircraft Carrier, which can be automatically separated and combined, made its first public flight in November last year, attracting widespread attention. The firm has received over 4,000 orders for the carrier, which costs around CNY2 million (USD281,015).

Xpeng Aeroht broke ground on a modular flying car factory in Guangzhou last October, which should be completed in the fourth quarter of this year and start mass production and delivery next year. The Land Aircraft Carrier also obtained a special flight permit in the United Arab Emirates and began manned flight tests on Sept. 11.

Editor: Martin Kadiev