Click for more mobility.
In a quiet, overlooked announcement earlier this month, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) and Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY), a firm developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, announced that Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi. The investment will be made in two equal tranches, with the first targeted to close later this year and the second during 2025.* This is part of a trend of traditional automobile companies transitioning to mobility companies on land, the seas, air or space, including Toyota’s Lunar Cruiser.**
“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.”
Joby claims it continues to make “important progress towards commercialization,” recently rolling its third aircraft off its pilot production line in Marina, CA, and breaking ground on an expanded facility in California that will more than double the Company’s manufacturing footprint. In August 2024, it confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the type certification process is now more than one-third complete on the Joby side.
“With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production,” said Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, who signed the agreement as the Operating Officer on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation. “We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today’s persistent mobility challenges.”
Toyota said its additional investment reflects the continued aim of Toyota Motor Corporation’s founding family, starting with Kiichiro Toyoda down to present-day Chairman Akio Toyoda, to realize the dream of air mobility for personal or daily travel as part of its transformation into a mobility company.
“Since 2019, in addition to monetary investments, Toyota has been investing time and human resources to share its knowledge of the Toyota Production System via process planning, manufacturing method development, and tooling design. 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,” Toyota said.
Toyota’s relationship with Joby began with an initial investment made by Toyota Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of Toyota that explores and identifies disruptive technologies, companies for investment opportunities, and provides support for portfolio companies. Toyota Motor Corporation subsequently completed investments totaling $394 million.
However there is a Caveat: The shares to be sold in the investment have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), or any state or other applicable jurisdiction’s securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or other jurisdictions’ securities laws.
*The Joby investment is of course subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain other conditions, finalization of collaborative and commercial agreements. With respect to the second tranche, the finalization of terms related to a strategic alliance focused on commercial manufacturing and certain other conditions. The investment, which will bring Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million, will be made in the form of cash for common stock. Further details of the investment are available via the companies’ regulatory filings with the SEC.
**AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Toyota to Invest in Joby Aviation EV Taxis!
Click for more mobility.
In a quiet, overlooked announcement earlier this month, Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) and Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY), a firm developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, announced that Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi. The investment will be made in two equal tranches, with the first targeted to close later this year and the second during 2025.* This is part of a trend of traditional automobile companies transitioning to mobility companies on land, the seas, air or space, including Toyota’s Lunar Cruiser.**
“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.”
Joby claims it continues to make “important progress towards commercialization,” recently rolling its third aircraft off its pilot production line in Marina, CA, and breaking ground on an expanded facility in California that will more than double the Company’s manufacturing footprint. In August 2024, it confirmed that the fourth of five stages of the type certification process is now more than one-third complete on the Joby side.
“With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production,” said Tetsuo “Ted” Ogawa, who signed the agreement as the Operating Officer on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation. “We share Joby’s view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today’s persistent mobility challenges.”
Toyota said its additional investment reflects the continued aim of Toyota Motor Corporation’s founding family, starting with Kiichiro Toyoda down to present-day Chairman Akio Toyoda, to realize the dream of air mobility for personal or daily travel as part of its transformation into a mobility company.
“Since 2019, in addition to monetary investments, Toyota has been investing time and human resources to share its knowledge of the Toyota Production System via process planning, manufacturing method development, and tooling design. 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,” Toyota said.
Toyota’s relationship with Joby began with an initial investment made by Toyota Ventures, the early-stage venture capital arm of Toyota that explores and identifies disruptive technologies, companies for investment opportunities, and provides support for portfolio companies. Toyota Motor Corporation subsequently completed investments totaling $394 million.
However there is a Caveat: The shares to be sold in the investment have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), or any state or other applicable jurisdiction’s securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or other jurisdictions’ securities laws.
*The Joby investment is of course subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain other conditions, finalization of collaborative and commercial agreements. With respect to the second tranche, the finalization of terms related to a strategic alliance focused on commercial manufacturing and certain other conditions. The investment, which will bring Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million, will be made in the form of cash for common stock. Further details of the investment are available via the companies’ regulatory filings with the SEC.
**AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.