Toyota Puts Nearly $1 Billion Into Electric Aviation Startup

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Electric aviation is a fascinating topic. And when we talk about electric aviation, we’re typically talking about vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft of course. There’s been a lot of interest and hype around electric VTOL aircraft for the past several years, but no one’s really using them yet — and that can make it seem like they’re never going to be cost competitive and live up to their hype. But this brings to mind a common maxim when it comes to new tech: it can feel like it’s taking forever for anything to change, and then a ton can change all at once. Battery technology and costs keep getting better, and that brings us closer and closer to commercial electric flight.

With that in mind, recent news from Toyota is a big rubber stamp on the idea that we should still be paying attention to and excited about electric VTOL aircraft. The Japanese giant, still the largest automaker in the world, has announced that it is going to “invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi, with the aim of realizing the two companies’ shared vision of air mobility.”

I think Joby was first covered on CleanTechnica in 2017. Five years later, in 2021, Michael Barnard explained his skeptical take on Joby and other electric VTOL aircraft. Yet, the industry plows forward … while still not having commercial VTOL services. Maybe Toyota will help us get there?

Notably, a Joby eVTOL aircraft completed the first electric VTOL flight over New York City nearly a year ago, and 8 months ago Joby launched an air taxi in Dubai. Now, we get news that “Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi, with the aim of realizing the two companies’ shared vision of air mobility.”

With this extra $500 million, Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investments into Joby now come to $894 million! That’s a lot of faith Toyota is putting into this small baby brand in the electric flight arena.

“Joby continues to make important progress towards commercialization, recently rolling its third aircraft off its pilot production line in Marina, CA, and breaking ground on an expanded facility in California that will more than double the Company’s manufacturing footprint. In August 2024, it confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the type certification process is now more than one-third complete on the Joby side.”

So, it looks like something is happening. We could see notable progress on electric air taxis in the coming few years. But we’ll see how long it actually takes.

“Today’s investment builds on nearly seven years of collaboration between our companies,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO, Joby Aviation. “The knowledge and support shared by Toyota has been instrumental in Joby’s success and we look forward to deepening our relationship as we deliver on our shared vision for the future of air travel.”

“With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production,” said Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, who signed the agreement as the Operating Officer on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation. “We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today’s persistent mobility challenges.”

Progress. What’s next?