Toyota Investing $500 Million More In Air Taxi Startup

Toyota is investing $500 million in an air taxi startup that plans to begin commercial flights next year. The automaker has been involved with California-based Joby Aviation since 2020 and this latest cash-drop brings Toyota’s total investment in the firm to $894 million.

Joby will receive the new cash in two chunks, the first arriving in Santa Cruz later this year with the rest due during 2025, the year the firm hopes to really get its electric air taxi business off the ground.

Related: Toyota Makes A $394 Million Bet On Flying Cars

“With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production,” said Toyota’s Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa. ”We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today’s persistent mobility challenges.”

The two firms have been working together for nearly seven years as Joby moves toward finally launching its first paid flights. The third aircraft recently rolled off Joby’s pilot production line and the company has begun work on an expanded plant that could double its production capacity.

Joby revealed in August that it had completed four out of five steps necessary to achieve certification and announced the same month that it hoped to kick-off its first commercial flight service in Dubai in late 2025. Before that can happen, the air taxi team needs to spend the first half of next year conducting a host of test flights.

Toyota isn’t the only automaker investing in flying cabs. Hyundai debuted its 120 mph (193 km/h) S-A2 air taxi at CES in LAs Vegas earlier this year, claiming it would have a production model ready by 2028.

China’s Xpeng X2 eVOTL (electric vertical take-off and landing) made its first debut flight last year, shortly after Stellantis announced it was expanding its partnership with Archer Aviation and would build the firm’s Midnight aircraft in Covington, Georgia. Stellantis dumped another $55 million into the Archer project this summer and claims the new plant will be ready before the end of 2024.