Toyota invests $500 million in flying taxi start-up Joby
Joby Aviation is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) to operate an air taxi service. This makes it a competitor to startups such as Archer (USA), Xpeng Aeroht (China), Lilium and Volocopter (both from Germany).
Toyota has been one of Joby Aviation’s investors for a long time and has already invested 394 million US dollars in the young company. Toyota is also contributing time and personnel with knowledge of the Toyota production system to process planning, the development of production methods and the design of tools. Toyota engineers are working alongside the Joby team in California. In 2023 the two companies signed a long-term agreement under which Toyota will supply key powertrain and control components for the production of Joby’s aircraft.
The new investment will be made in two equal tranches in the form of cash for common stock, with the first tranche to be completed later this year and the second in 2025. “Today’s investment builds on nearly seven years of collaboration between our companies,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “The knowledge and support shared by Toyota has been instrumental in Joby’s success, and we look forward to deepening our relationship as we deliver on our shared vision for the future of air travel.”
“We are pleased that this additional investment will allow Joby to certify and transition its aircraft into commercial production,” said Tetsuo ‘Ted’ Ogawa, who signed the agreement as Operating Officer on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation. “We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will play a central role in addressing the ongoing mobility challenges of our time.”
Toyota’s additional investment reflects the goal of Toyota Motor Corporation’s founding family, from Kiichiro Toyoda to current Chairman Akio Toyoda, to realize the dream of air mobility for personal or daily travel as part of the company’s transformation into a mobility company.
Joby continues to make significant progress towards the commercialization of its eVTOL and recently rolled its third aircraft off the pilot production line in Marina, California. In addition, ground has already been broken on an expanded facility in California that will more than double the company’s production space. In August 2024, the company confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the type approval process on the Joby side is now more than a third complete.
Most recently, Joby successfully tested a hydrogen-electric air taxi demonstrator with a flight over a distance of around 842 kilometres. The eVTOL is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Joby Aviation and H2FLY, Joby’s wholly-owned subsidiary.
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