Joby Aviation, a company developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, has signed a long-term agreement with Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation to supply key powertrain and actuation components for the production of the company’s in-development electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft.
The agreement builds on previous partnerships on a wide variety of projects to support the production and assembly of the Joby aircraft, including advising on the design of Joby’s pilot production line in Marina, CA. Toyota is also Joby’s largest external shareholder, having invested around $400 million in the company.
“Our partnership with Toyota continues to be an integral part of Joby’s success, from assisting in the design of our pilot production line in Marina, California, to supplying key components for our aircraft,” says JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby.
Designed by Joby and manufactured by Toyota, the components will be delivered to Joby’s powertrain and electronics manufacturing facility in San Carlos, California, before the finished assemblies are shipped to the company’s pilot production line in Marina for integration. Intended to prove scalable tooling and processes at low volumes in advance of aircraft production at full scale, Joby’s Marina facilities were designed with Toyota’s help, leveraging decades of experience delivering reliable, high-quality cars at high volume.
“We are excited about the potential for further collaboration as we seek to realize Mobility for All with a seamlessly integrated air-to-ground mobility network,” Toyota Motor Corporation Connected Company President Keiji Yamamoto says.
Joby is working with Toyota subsidiary Aero Asahi on an air taxi shuttle service for Toyota-related passengers in Japan. The air taxi startup recently announced it has formally applied to the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to validate its planned Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aircraft type certification.
