According to “Automotive News”, on October 2, Toyota Motor and electric flying vehicle startup Joby Aviation jointly announced that Toyota Motor will invest another US$500 million in Joby to support Joby’s continuous certification of its electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
, and accelerate cooperation between the two companies in commercial production.
“With this additional investment, we look forward to seeing Joby certify their aircraft and move to commercial production,” Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, President and CEO of Toyota Motor North America, said in a written statement.
Photo source: Joby, it is reported that Toyota’s investment in Joby will be divided into two equal parts.
The first will be arranged this year and the second will be arranged in 2025.
So far, Toyota’s total investment in Joby has reached US$894 million.
In January 2020, Joby announced that it had raised US$590 million in a Series C financing, of which the main investor Toyota Motor invested US$394 million.
, Toyota and Joby have been working together for nearly seven years.
The companies said Joby relied on Toyota’s manufacturing experience to build a pilot production line in Marina, California, and Toyota engineers are now working side by side with Joby’s team.
The two companies signed a long-term agreement in 2023 for Toyota to supply key powertrain and drive components for the Joby aircraft.
Joby expects to have four aircraft flight-tested by the end of the year and is currently in the process of certifying its aircraft.
This is the process by which the Federal Aviation Administration approves designs for aircraft and their components, and consists of five stages.
Joby said it has begun the fourth phase, testing the aircraft.
Other automakers are making similar investments.
In August this year, Stellantis and Archer Aviation reached an agreement in principle.
Under the agreement, Stellantis will bear up to US$370 million in labor-related costs for Archer to support Archer’s production increase plan.
In January this year, Supernal, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, released the product concept S-A2 for an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and plans to start preliminary test flights of its electric flying taxi before the end of this year.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz and Geely are both investors in Germany’s Volocopter company.
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