Wanna capture those travel moments, but without having to stop your vehicle so you can grab a few pictures? No? How about this: a car that comes with a drone hangar.

You like that one, huh?

Because there is a drone system that comes with a custom-made car now.

Chinese electronic vehicle maker BYD and drone giant DJI have just launched a drone system that will be mounted on top of a vehicle, aiming to transform cars into mobile entertainment and exploration platforms.

Called Lingyuan, the system integrates a drone with the vehicle, offering a vertical field of view to capture travel moments in real time.

It will be available across all BYD vehicle models, according to the announcement made at a launch event this past Sunday in Shenzhen, the major tech hub in southern China’s Guangdong Province.

The Lingyuan features a retractable car-mounted drone home, which boasts of features like the capacity for automated takeoff and landing, synchronised follow image capture, as well as rapid storage and charging of the drone.

“The collaboration between BYD and DJI is far more than just placing a drone in a car,” said Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD at the launch event.

Wang said they started from the ground up, integrating vehicle and drone technologies in a way that enhances both.

Luo Zhenhua, president of DJI, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that technology should not be used to create toys for the few.

“It should be a tool that benefits the world,” Luo said, calling the partnership a breakthrough in product innovation and a re-imagination of the mobility ecosystem.

Founded in 1995 as a battery manufacturer, BYD has been at the forefront of China’s new energy vehicle (NEV) sector. In 2024, the company saw NEV sales soar 41.26 percent year on year to over 4.27 million units.

DJI itself came into existence in 2006 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. The company has grown in leaps and bounce since then, thanks to its great drone products widely used in filmmaking, agriculture, search and rescue, energy infrastructure, among many other applications.

There was no immediate confirmation that the actual drone involved in this system is the new Matrice 4, but it looks like it from the images and video in the public area. And we figure this will just be another start for the arms race for drone systems mounted on vehicles for heavier industrial applications.

We figure players in the security industry are already licking their lips, imagining how they can use a combination of vehicles and drones to patrol premises without having to make stops along the way.