Joby expands partnership with Toyota
(L-R) Kazuhiro Sato and Jordin Gischler present a completed tilt actuator, manufactured at Joby’s San Carlos production facility with key parts supplied by Toyota. (credit: Joby Aviation)
Joby Aviation expands its partnership with Toyota with the signing of a long-term agreement to supply key powertrain and actuation components for Joby’s aircraft.
The agreement builds on the long-standing partnership between the two firms, which has seen collaboration on projects to support the production and assembly of Joby’s S4, including advising on the design of the pilot production line. Toyota is also Joby’s largest external shareholder, having invested around $400m.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said: “Our partnership with Toyota continues to be an integral part of Joby’s success, from assisting in the design of our pilot production line in Marina, California, to supplying key components for our aircraft.”
“I’m grateful for Toyota’s unwavering dedication to Joby as we work together to deliver a new form of fast, quiet and emissions-free mobility for cities and communities around the world. Their expertise and knowledge has helped put us on track to deliver, at scale, an aircraft that we believe is truly best-in-class.”
The components, designed by Joby and manufactured by Toyota, will be delivered to Joby’s powertrain and electronics manufacturing facility in San Carlos, California, before the finished assemblies are shipped to the pilot production line in Marina for integration. Intended to prove out scalable tooling and processes at low volumes in advance of full scale production, Joby’s Marina facilities were designed with Toyota’s help.
Toyota Motor Corporation connected company president, Keiji Yamamoto, added: “We are very pleased to have reached this milestone with our key partner. Our mutual goal is mass production of eVTOL and helping Joby apply the best practices of the Toyota Production System in meeting high quality, reliability, safety, and strict cost standards. We are excited about the potential for further collaboration as we seek to realise Mobility for All with a seamlessly integrated air-to-ground mobility network.”
Joby is also working with Toyota subsidiary Aero Asahi on an air taxi shuttle service for passengers in Japan. With that in mind, the firm recently announced it has formally applied to the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to validate its planned FAA aircraft type certification.
