Toyota to infuse additional $500 million in Joby Aviation for electric air taxis

Tokyo, Oct 2 (IANS) Toyota Motor on Wednesday said it will invest an additional $500 million in US-based Joby Aviation, a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service.

This brings total investment from Toyota in Joby to $894 million to date.

The additional investment will support the certification and commercial production of Joby's electric air taxi, with the aim of realising their shared vision of air mobility.

The investment will be made in two equal tranches, with the first targeted to close later this year and the second in 2025, said the automaker.

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

The investment is subject to standard regulatory approvals. "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,” he added.

Joby said it continues to make important progress towards commercialisation, recently rolling its third aircraft off its pilot production line in Marina, California, and breaking ground on an expanded facility in the US state that will more than double the company's manufacturing footprint.

In August, it confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the type certification process is now more than one-third complete on the Joby side.

Toyota's relationship with Joby began through an initial investment made by Toyota Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of Toyota that explores and identifies disruptive technologies and companies for investment opportunities and provides support for portfolio companies. Toyota Motor Corporation subsequently completed investments totalling $394 million.

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