Toyota invests $500 million more in Joby Air Taxi; both companies will work ‘parallel’ in California
Toyota, which has U.S. headquarters in Plano, took its eyes off the road long enough to look to the skies and invest another $500 million in California-based Joby, bringing its total investment to date to $894 million. Toyota said the investment is aimed at “realizing the companies’ shared vision for air mobility.”
Joby Aviation’s electric air taxi (Photo: Joby)
Toyota Motor Corporation is looking to the skies. The company, which has North American headquarters in Plano, announced it will invest $500 million in California-based Joby Aviation, which is developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service.
This is on top of the $394 million Toyota invested in Joby in 2020, and the automaker was the lead investor in Joby’s $590 million Series C funding round.
Toyota said the investment was aimed at “realizing the two companies’ shared vision for air mobility.”
“Today’s investment builds on nearly seven years of collaboration between our companies,” Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said in a statement. “Toyota’s shared knowledge and support has contributed to Joby’s success, and we look forward to deepening our relationship as we realize our shared vision for the future of air travel.”
Unit 3 just rolled off the production line
Joby recently rolled its third aircraft off the pilot production line in Marina, Calif., and is breaking ground on an expansion of its California facility that will “more than double the company’s manufacturing footprint,” Toyota said. Just last month, Joby confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the FAA type certification process is “currently more than one-third complete on Joby’s side,” the company added.
Tetsuo ‘Ted’ Ogawa, who signed the agreement on behalf of Toyota as executive officer, said: “With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify its aircraft and move into commercial production. ” he said. “We share Mr. Joby’s view that sustainable flight is central to mitigating today’s persistent mobility challenges.”
Toyota said the additional investment was “part of the transformation into mobility that Toyota Motor Corporation’s founding family, from Kiichiro Toyoda to current Chairman Akio Toyoda, is committed to making the dream of air mobility for personal and everyday travel a reality. “This reflects our continued goals.” company. “
Toyota is investing more than just money in Joby. Since 2019, the company said it has invested “time and human resources to share knowledge about the Toyota Production System through process planning, manufacturing method development and tooling design.”
Toyota engineers and the Joby team are working collaboratively in California, Toyota said. Additionally, in 2023, the two companies entered into a long-term agreement in which Toyota will supply key powertrains and operating components to Joby’s aircraft production.
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