Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby Aviation, a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, announced the completion of Joby’s first international exhibition flight which took place at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka, Japan earlier this week.
The flight, completed within sight of Mount Fuji, marked an opportunity to demonstrate the low acoustic footprint of Joby’s emissions-free aircraft and celebrate nearly seven years of collaboration between the two companies, during which time Toyota has supported Joby by providing insights from its extensive automotive manufacturing and technology expertise. Toyota engineers now work side-by-side with the Joby team in California and, in 2023, the two companies signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for the production of Joby’s aircraft.
Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with zero operating emissions and a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters. This new mobility service aims to reduce traffic congestion, minimize environmental impact, and provide transportation solutions for urban and rural regions, demonstrating the potential to address various transportation challenges in Japan and around the world. Joby was founded in 2009 and has since completed thousands of test flights, including exhibition flights from the iconic Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City.
Today’s news comes weeks after Toyota committed to invest an additional $500 million in Joby, to support the certification and commercial production of the Company’s electric air taxi. The additional funds will bring Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million and include plans to establish a manufacturing alliance to support the first phase of commercialization.
The investment will be made in two equal tranches and is subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain other conditions, finalization of collaborative and commercial agreements and, with respect to the second tranche, the finalization of terms related to a strategic alliance focused on commercial manufacturing and certain other conditions.
