Toyota has made a significant $500 million investment in Joby Aviation, a leading American air taxi company, further solidifying their partnership and commitment to the future of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This latest investment brings Toyota’s total stake in Joby to a remarkable 22%, showcasing their faith in the company’s ability to deliver on its vision of revolutionizing urban air mobility. With Joby’s progress in aircraft certification and production, this collaboration promises to shape the way we experience air travel in the years to come. Electric aircraft and urban air mobility are rapidly emerging as the future of transportation.
Deepening the Partnership
This fresh $500 million injection from Toyota is a significant deepening of the partnership between the two companies. The Toyota relationship will be Joby’s longest to date at close to seven years, during which time the automaker has not only offered a capital infusion but also expertise in design and manufacturing.
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation said: “We are excited to share Toyota’s vision of future mobility. Joby has spent the last ten years developing flight technology that is designed to save lives.” Should the deal close, it would mark a formal survival route after an announced deal fell through last year to take Joby public via a reverse merger with Reinvent Technology Partners combined with input from Uber and the Urban-Air Mobility Division of Sabre Corp. In addition to any investment capital that it raises, this would help cement a partnership that has made big strides for Joby toward certifying its electric air taxi; counting current prototype in third flight footage published recently (below).
In addition to the financial investment, Toyota has been hands on with the project, its engineers working closely with Joby’s team at its California headquarters. The hands-on nature of the installation effort reflects Toyota’s attention to detail which will be critical for successfully integrating its powertrain and other components into Joby’s aircraft as well, thereby further strengthening what has quickly become a burgeoning partnership.
Urban Air Mobility Revolutionized
The Joby Aviation electric air taxi was one of the launchers of The New Urban Air Mobility Revolution. These electric aircraft are poised to revolutionize our urban skies in the near future, by providing a ‘greener’ and more efficient alternative to ground-based transportation for passengers traveling between cities, or within them.
But the Toyota partnership is key to helping Joby even stand a chance at its lofty objectives. Toyota has decades of experience in the design, manufacture, and production of automobiles at global scale that can be a significant benefit. Joby realised this to have enough resources under its belt when it comes to certifying an aircraft and scaling-up manufacturing for full production without hiccups. Together this partnership will contribute to delivering Joby’s vision of convenient, passenger-friendly air mobility.
The world in general is urbanizing rapidly and the requirement for ground breaking mobility solutions to curb traffic congestion and reduce carbon footprints has become crucial. With the help of Toyota’s technology, Joby’s all-electric air taxis have the potential to operate as a transformative new way to travel through cities and provide riders with an economical alternative to traditional ground-based transportation.
The Future of Air Travel
Though this is an investment that also marks a foray into the future of air travel for Toyota. Joby and Toyota are helping to shape generations of vertical lift technology that is about being transferred in brave new ways, using electric-vertical takeoff-and-land (eVTOL) machines.
Joby’s electric aircraft are an important development toward a greener future of air travel, as the world comes to grips with issues around reducing emissions associated with traditional land-based transportation technologies. Sophisticated and quiet, the aircraft are designed to be more efficient and less polluting than traditional helicopters or small planes, opening up a host of possible new routes that could help reshape the urban landscape in congested cities.
The partnership is just another example that no single company can revolutionize the transportation industry and we need cross-industry pole-bearers like everyone else. This potential synergy of the two companies, when combined under a singular roof, might change the way we ever looked at air travel and open some new avenues. In the end, these types of partnerships may define what transportation looks like in a new world, creating the healthiest and most accessible future for air mobility.
