Toyota Invests Another $500 Million In Air Taxi Startup, Joby Aviation
With two equal stock purchases, Toyota Motor Corporation is set to spend an extra $500 million on Joby Aviation.
The second tranche will fund what the Californian eVTOL developer calls “a strategic alliance focused on commercial manufacturing.”
Joe Ben Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, confirmed the investment in a press release on Wednesday.
Newsng gathered that the carmaker and Joby would form a manufacturing partnership for the initial stages of commercialisation.
Joe Ben Bevirt founded Joby Aviation in 2009, situated in California. Up to its significant $100 million funding round in 2018, which included involvement from Intel, Toyota, and JetBlue, the company operated beneath the radar.
The businesses agreed in 2023 to allow Toyota to produce the air taxi Joby’s powertrain components.
With the utilisation of the money, Joby hopes to finish the drawn-out Type 2 certification procedure with the FAA and begin commercial manufacturing of its electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
To start a commercial air taxi company in 2025, Joby is now in the fourth of five stages of the type certification.
Along with building an additional facility in California that will more than double its manufacturing footprint, the business just took its third aircraft off its pilot production line in Marina, California.
“Today’s investment builds on nearly seven years of collaboration between our companies,” said Bevirt. “The knowledge and support shared by Toyota have 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 earlier reported that to compete with BYD and other emerging Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, Toyota intends to construct a new EV battery plant on “Silicon Island” in Japan.
In addition to providing batteries for Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand, the factory will fortify its EV supply chain.
