Chery Unveils Two Lingxiao eVTOL Concepts at Wuhu Innovation Conference

Chinese automaker Chery has unveiled two electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft concepts under its Lingxiao brand at its annual Global Innovation Conference in Wuhu, Anhui province, on October 20, 2026. The disclosure places one of China's largest car makers more firmly into the advanced air mobility sector, though the company has not yet published a development timeline or certification pathway for either aircraft.

The two concepts differ sharply in size and implied mission. The smaller of the pair, the Lingxiao Q212, is an all-electric two-seater with a compound wing and a lift-and-cruise propulsion architecture, meaning it uses separate rotors for vertical lift and forward flight.

Chery quotes a maximum speed of 120 km/h for the Q212 and an endurance of roughly one hour at full load. The figures position the aircraft in the short-hop urban shuttle segment now targeted by established eVTOL developers.

What does the larger concept signal?

The second aircraft, the Lingxiao J506, is a five-seat tiltrotor, a configuration in which rotors pivot from vertical to horizontal to combine hover with wingborne cruise. Chery has not disclosed its propulsion details, but the claimed performance envelope exceeds what current battery technology typically delivers.

The company quotes a top speed above 350 km/h and a range of 1,000 km, numbers that point to a hybrid propulsion system combining electric drive with a thermal generator. No supplier or powertrain partner has been named.

Both aircraft carry pilots. Chery says the J506 has also been designed to support autonomous flight in the future, without indicating when or under which regulatory framework that capability might be certified.

Not Chery's first air mobility move

The Wuhu announcement is not the car maker's first public step into advanced air mobility. In 2024 Chery displayed a modular "land and air vehicle" at Beijing's Auto China trade show and later at that year's Global Innovation Conference in Wuhu.

That earlier concept differed from the current designs. It paired a small detachable eVTOL carried on top of a car chassis, an arrangement similar to the "land aircraft carrier" under development by AeroHT, the aerospace arm of fellow Chinese car maker XPeng, which has begun flight testing in the UAE.

Chinese media reports suggest Chery's land-and-air vehicle may have completed a test flight covering 80 km. That claim could not be independently verified, and Chery has not confirmed the figure.

The company has been approached for comment on the two new programs.

What separates concept from aircraft

For now, both Lingxiao designs remain concepts with basic specifications and no stated schedule for prototype construction, flight testing or type certification (the regulatory approval process an aircraft design must complete before commercial operation). Whether Chery intends to pursue certification with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and on what timeline, will determine whether the announced performance figures translate into a marketable product or remain a technology showcase.

The J506's claimed 1,000 km range in particular will invite scrutiny, as it would require a hybrid powertrain well beyond the battery-only designs most eVTOL developers have so far certified or flown. Until Chery publishes a development programme, test articles or regulatory milestones, the two Lingxiao aircraft sit in the industry's crowded category of announced but unflown designs, and the next measurable indicator to watch will be confirmation of a first prototype or a formal certification application.