A production or assembly facility for a modular flying car and its mother ship vehicle could be established in the UAE, according to Michael Du, CFO and Vice President of Aridge, the company that is bringing the unique vehicle to the region.

"We are a company that aspires to have global presence and we want to make sure our product is enjoyed by consumers around the world," he told Khaleej Times. "When we have reached a certain volume and when the local demand is large enough, it makes a lot of sense to have local adaptations or certain manufacturing or servicing or operational processes locally."

He was speaking on the sidelines of the first international public flight demonstration of the Land Aircraft Carrier, the company's modular flying car system.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

The carrier combines a ground mother ship vehicle with a detachable, foldable two-seater Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft that fits neatly in its trunk. The unique vehicle has now entered the mass production stage and has already received 600 orders in the region. In the UAE, the company has partnered with Ali and Sons group to sell the vehicle.

Previously known as Xpeng Aeroht, Aridge is one of Asia's largest flying car companies, and Du said there were several reasons the region was chosen as its first international market. "The GCC countries are extremely good in terms of embracing new technology," he said. "Apart from that, over here you can see the beautiful coastline, the different sceneries and geographical locations. It creates a wide range of potential use cases. The third reason is that this has a very large market where you have a lot of full-on user consumer base."

After the demonstration on Sunday, he said he expected more orders to pour in from early adopters of technology. "As people get to know more about it and actually see how it's really flying, we're confident the interest and the orders are going to increase even more. I think our first customers are definitely going to be people who embrace new technology- the first buyers of new types of products like foldable phones, electric vehicles, drones and so on."

He added that as of now, there was no price point for the vehicle, which has been designed for personal use in the GCC area.

The eVTOL of the Land Aircraft Carrier is capable of flying up to 2,000 meters high, but there will be limitations when it is released for public use. "In China, we are limiting it to 120 meters, in accordance with local regulations," said Du.

The company is working with local regulators, including the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), to ensure a "future official certification process" and that "everything is safe when embracing and adapting to new technologies"

The air module can go up to speeds of 72kmph but the speed will be limited for local use. The switch between the driving and flying mode will only take a total of four minutes. "People can drive the aircraft anywhere across the country to find a location they want to fly, while complying with local regulation," said Du. "When they arrive there, there's automatic separation of the vehicle that takes less than four minutes."

The rotor can automatically deploy or fold with a simple one-click operation and high-precision parking and motion coordination technology allows the mother ship and eVTOL to align precisely. Within four minutes, the air module that weighs more than 700 kg fits smoothly into six-wheel ground vehicle- which serves as both a transportation vehicle and an energy platform, where the eVTOL can be charged.

According to Du, the company wanted to design a product that from the beginning to the end will "solve every daily utilization difficulties people might have when flying".

UAE could become home to modular flying car factory, says Aridge CFO