Toyota Collaborates with Joby on eVTOL Aircraft Production

Joby Aviation has signed a long-term agreement with Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for the production of the company’s all-electric aircraft.

The agreement builds on the long-standing partnership between Joby and Toyota, which has seen the two companies collaborate 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, California. Toyota is also Joby’s largest external shareholder, having invested around $400 million in the company.

The components, designed by Joby and manufactured by Toyota, 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 out 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.

Toyota Motor Corporation Connected Company President Keiji Yamamoto added: “Our mutual goal is mass production of eVTOL and helping Joby apply the best practices of the Toyota Production System in meeting high quality, reliability, safety, and strict cost standards.

“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.”

Joby is working with Toyota subsidiary Aero Asahi on an air taxi shuttle service for Toyota related passengers in Japan. Joby recently announced it has formally applied to the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to validate its planned Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aircraft type certification.