Toyota is investing another $500 million in Joby Aviation to support the flying taxi startup’s certification and commercial production of eVTOL aircraft for use in a ridehailing service. The automaker has now invested a total of $894 million since 2018.
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Toyota’s investment will come in two tranches of $250 million, the first of which will be completed this year and the second in 2025. The automaker will also form a manufacturing alliance with Joby for the first phase of commercialization. The companies had signed an agreement in 2023 to let Toyota manufacture engine components for Joby’s flying taxi.
California- based Joby Aviation is run by JoeBen Bevirt , who started the company in 2009. The company operated quietly until a large $100 million investment round in 2018, which included participation from Intel , Toyota and JetBlue.
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The money helped Joby develop a prototype and conduct test flights at a private airport in Northern California. Toyota was impressed by the flying taxi and sent its own engineers to work with Joby Aviation.
Joby's all-electric aircraft has six rotors and five seats, including the pilot. The vehicle can take off vertically, like a helicopter, and then shift into forward flight using tilt rotors. Joby says it can reach a top speed of 200 mph, travel 150 miles on a single battery charge, and is 100 times quieter than a conventional aircraft.
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The company recently conducted a few exhibition flights in Manhattan and plans to start flying passengers to places like New York and Los Angeles in 2025.
Source: theverge
