First International Exhibition eVTOL Flight Successfull
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Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby Aviation Inc. announced the completion of Joby’s first international exhibition flight, which took place at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka, Japan earlier this week.
The flight, completed within sight of Mount Fuji, marked an opportunity to demonstrate the low acoustic footprint of Joby’s emissions-free aircraft and celebrate nearly seven years of collaboration between the two companies, during which time Toyota has supported Joby by providing insights from its automotive manufacturing and technology expertise. Toyota engineers now work side-by-side with the Joby team in California and, in 2023, the two companies signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for the production of Joby’s aircraft.
At the event, Hiroki Nakajima, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “Air mobility has the potential to change our ‘sense of distance and time,’ and open a future with the new option of air mobility that will further enrich the lives of many people.”
Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with zero operating emissions and a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters. This new mobility service aims to reduce traffic congestion, minimize environmental impact, and provide transportation solutions for urban and rural regions, demonstrating the potential to address various transportation challenges in Japan and around the world. Joby was founded in 2009 and has since completed thousands of test flights, including exhibition flights from the iconic Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City.
Today’s news comes weeks after Toyota committed to invest an additional $500 million in Joby, to support the certification and commercial production of the company’s electric air taxi. The additional funds will bring Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million and include plans to establish a manufacturing alliance to support the first phase of commercialization.
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