- Flight took place at Toyota’s facility in
Shizuoka
- Marks Joby’s first international exhibition
flight
- Follows announcement that Toyota will invest a
further $500 million to support certification and commercial
production of Joby’s aircraft
Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota; NYSE: TM) and Joby Aviation,
Inc. (Joby; NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for
commercial passenger service, today 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.
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the full release here:
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A Joby production prototype electric air
taxi flying in front of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka, Japan. Photo: Joby
Aviation
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 extensive
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.
"Our first overseas flight marks a significant milestone on our
journey towards making clean air travel an everyday reality,” said
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby. “We share Toyota’s vision
for the future of mobility and are honored to have had the
opportunity to present a glimpse of that future through our flight
in Japan.”
A wide range of stakeholders gathered at the test facility for
an event to celebrate the exhibition flight and historic milestone,
including Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, and
representatives of Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau.
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.”
“Toyota is committed to deepening our collaboration with Joby
and we will continue to work together to realize our shared
dreams,” he continued.
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. The investment will be made in two equal
tranches and is subject to standard regulatory approvals and
certain other conditions, finalization of collaborative and
commercial agreements and, with respect to the second tranche, the
finalization of terms related to a strategic alliance focused on
commercial manufacturing and certain other conditions.
Media assets, including photos and footage of Joby’s aircraft
flying in Japan, as well as photos of the celebratory event, are
available here.
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based
transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical
take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part
of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the
world. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel
cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people
live through our Toyota and Lexus brands, and directly employs more
than 63,000 people in North America (more than 49,000 in the
U.S.).
Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 47 million
cars and trucks in North America at the company’s 12 manufacturing
plants. By 2025, the company’s 13th plant in North Carolina will
begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified
vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly
1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.6 million cars and
trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2023, of which more
than one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid,
plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
For more information about Toyota, visit
www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited
to, statements regarding the development and performance of Joby’s
aircraft, the growth of Joby’s manufacturing capabilities, the
regulatory outlook, progress and timing; planned operations;
business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; the timing
and general completion of Toyota’s investment in Joby and the
expected amount of proceeds; the satisfaction of conditions to the
funding of the investment; and the commercial relationship between
Toyota and Joby. You can identify forward-looking statements by the
fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current
facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”,
“estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”,
“may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and
terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the
timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or
other events. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks
and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ
materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements.
Among those risks and uncertainties are market conditions, the
satisfaction of the closing conditions related to each tranche of
the investment and risks relating to Joby’s and Toyota’s business,
including those described in periodic and current reports that
Toyota and Joby file from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Toyota and Joby may not consummate the
investment described in this press release and, if the investment
is consummated, no assurances can be provided regarding its ability
to effectively apply the proceeds of the investment or the success
of the expanded alliance among Joby and Toyota. The forward-looking
statements included in this press release speak only as of the date
of this press release, and Toyota and Joby do not undertake to
update the statements included in this press release for subsequent
developments, except as may be required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241104432473/en/
Joby Aviation Investors: investors@jobyaviation.com Media:
press@jobyaviation.com
Toyota Media: Aaron Fowles, aaron.fowles@toyota.com,
469-292-1097
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