Electric Air Taxi Firm Joby Announces $500M Investment From Toyota

Toyota on Wednesday announced it will funnel an additional $500 million into the commercial production and certification of Joby Aviation’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. The four-passenger design—which takes off vertically like a helicopter but cruises on fixed wings—last year began crewed testing and is expected to begin ferrying customers as early as next year, pending FAA approval.

Toyota has now invested a total of $894 million into Joby, making it the firm’s largest external shareholder.

Toyota’s investment will be made in two $250 million tranches, the first of which is targeted to close this year. Tied to the funding is the expectation that the companies will form a manufacturing alliance for the first phase of air taxi commercialization, similar to the arrangement competitor Archer Aviation has with Stellantis, another massive automaker.

“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.

Like Joby, Toyota is committed to electrifying transportation with models like the Prius—about 1 in 4 of the 2.6 million cars and trucks it sold in 2023 were either full battery-electric, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid with a fuel cell.

According to Bevirt, the companies have collaborated for nearly seven years, beginning with an initial investment from Toyota Ventures. Since then, the automaker has made subsequent investments totaling nearly $400 million.

Toyota engineers, meanwhile, have begun working alongside Joby personnel at the company’s manufacturing and flight test center at Marina Municipal Airport (KOAR) in California. They’re also advising Joby as the firm prepares for scaled production at its newly acquired facility at Dayton International Airport (KDAY) in Ohio, where it initially plans to manufacture more than 500 aircraft annually as soon as next year.

Last year, Joby and Toyota signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to provide powertrain and actuator components for Joby’s production aircraft, deepening the relationship further.

Joby’s air taxi design and Archer’s Midnight are further along in the FAA certification process than any other eVTOL model, with both firms anticipating the start of for-credit evaluations next year. Now, both companies can call on their massive financial backings to churn out aircraft at high volume once they receive the green light.

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