Toyota will invest $500 million more into air-taxi startup Joby Aviation

Toyota Motor Corp. is doubling down on a big bet in the aviation realm.

The automaker will invest $500 million into electric air mobility startup Joby Aviation, the companies said Oct. 2.

Funding will support Joby's ongoing efforts to certify its electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft and accelerate collaboration between the two companies on commercial-scale manufacturing.

"With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production," Toyota COO Ted Ogawa said in a written statement.

The funding will be distributed in two equal tranches, with the first due this year and the second in 2025. It will bring Toyota's total investment in Joby to $894 million.

It affirms Toyota's ties with the aviation startup at a time when others are making similar investments, often based on manufacturing synergies.

In August, Stellantis reached an agreement in principle with Archer Aviation to contribute as much as $400 million in a manufacturing collaboration that could see as many as 650 aircraft produced on an annual basis.

Hyundai Motor Group has its own air-mobility subsidiary called Supernal, which showcased its SA-2 eVTOL in January. Mercedes-Benz and Geely are among the financial backers of German air-taxi startup Volocopter.

Toyota and Joby have worked together for nearly seven years.

Joby relied on Toyota's manufacturing expertise in setting up its pilot production line in Marina, Calif. Toyota engineers now work side by side with the Joby team, the companies said. The two companies signed a long-term agreement in 2023 for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components aboard the Joby aircraft.

"The knowledge and support shared by Toyota has been instrumental in Joby's success, and we look forward to deepening our relationship," said Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt.

Joby rolled its third aircraft from the Marina production line this year. The company has broken ground on an expanded facility in California that it said will more than double its manufacturing footprint.

Joby expects to have four aircraft conducting flight tests by the end of the year. It is working through type certification of its aircraft, the process by which the Federal Aviation Administration approves design of the aircraft and its components.

That process takes years. There are five stages. Joby said it has started on the fourth stage, testing the aircraft.

On the business side, Joby has a multi-year partnership with Delta Air Lines. It signed a memorandum of understanding with a Saudi Aramco subsidiary to introduce aircraft to Saudi Arabia via direct sales.

The Joby aircraft can fly at speeds of up to 200 mph with a range of 100 miles.

While the current aircraft is electric, Joby shares Toyota's well-documented interest in exploring hydrogen fuel cells as an energy source. In June, Joby flew a first-of-its-kind test flight involving a hydrogen-powered air taxi.

The aircraft flew for 523 miles under hydrogen power.