JOINT VENTURE FORMALISES NEARLY A DECADE OF COLLABORATION

Joby Aviation and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced the establishment of a joint venture as the initial phase of their strategic manufacturing alliance, combining Joby’s work in electric aviation with Toyota’s expertise in production systems and operational excellence. The announcement formalises a relationship that has developed over nearly a decade and is intended to lay the groundwork for commercial production of Joby’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and Chief Executive of Joby Aviation, said Toyota had been by Joby’s side for nearly a decade, providing guidance and support as the company built the foundation for manufacturing its aircraft. He said the announcement reflected the strength of the relationship and shared confidence in the opportunity ahead, and that both companies shared a vision of making aerial mobility an everyday reality.

SHARED VISION FOR AIR MOBILITY

Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, said that since the company’s founding it had been guided by the philosophy of providing mobility for all, and that over time it had continued to expand what that could mean. He described air mobility as a natural extension of that philosophy — a movement from the ground into the sky — and as a means of bringing new value to people’s lives and to society. He said taking on the challenge together with Joby, a partner sharing the same vision, was meaningful for Toyota, and that the strengthened relationship represented an important step forward in realising the future mobility society.

ALLIANCE SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES

The strategic alliance will initially focus on establishing the groundwork for commercial production and advancing manufacturing excellence, with particular emphasis on improving productivity, quality and cost. Going forward, the joint venture will also support the expansion of Joby’s production capacity to sustain aircraft certification and meet anticipated growth in demand for its eVTOL aircraft. Both companies said they would continue to work closely together through the joint venture, leveraging their respective strengths to bring air mobility to a broader scale.

Joby Aviation is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi intended for operation in cities around the world. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker JOBY. Toyota, listed on NYSE under the ticker TM, directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America.