Toyota to invest $500 million in Joby Aviation’s air taxis

Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby Aviation Inc., a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, said that Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi.

The investment, which will be made in two equal tranches, is subject to standard regulatory approvals and other conditions towards realising the two companies’ shared vision of air mobility.

The investment will bring Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million and will be made in the form of cash for common stock, with the first tranche targeted to close later this year and the second in 2025.

“Today’s investment builds on nearly seven years of collaboration between our companies. 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,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation.

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Joby is rolling its third aircraft off its pilot production line in Marina, California, and breaking ground on an expanded facility in California that will more than double the company’s manufacturing footprint. In August 2024, it was confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the type certification process is now more than one-third complete on the Joby side.

“With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production. We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today’s persistent mobility challenges,” said Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, who signed the agreement as the operating officer on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation.

Since 2019, in addition to monetary investments, Toyota has been investing time and human resources to share its knowledge of the Toyota Production System via process planning, manufacturing method development, and tooling design.

Its 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.