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Toyota has created a joint venture with Joby Aviation to prepare for the mass production of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The project combines eVTOL technology, six tiltable rotors, speeds of up to 322 km/h, four independent battery sets, and the industrial experience of the Japanese manufacturer.
Toyota moves beyond hybrid and electric cars by preparing, with Joby Aviation, the mass production of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The initiative marks a new stage in the attempt to bring electrification to urban air transport.
The partnership created the Joby Toyota Aero Manufacturing Preparation Company, a joint venture to apply industrial methods from the automotive industry to the electric aviation sector. Toyota will hold 51% of the new company, with a dominant role.
The relationship between the two companies did not start now. The project is the result of a technical and financial rapprochement built over nearly a decade, with investments of hundreds of millions of dollars made by Toyota in the Californian company since 2020.
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Toyota brings automotive method to electric aviation
The central point of the joint venture is to transfer Toyota’s production experience to an area that still faces scaling challenges. Joby develops eVTOL aircraft, but the commercial viability of this type of transport depends on manufacturing more units with strict quality.
The Japanese contribution is not limited to capital. The company also brings knowledge in supply chains, assembly lines, and quality control. The proposal is to reduce costs and overcome more artisanal methods, common in the early stages of aviation.
This change is essential to expand the production capacity of Joby’s factory in California. The advancement also needs to keep pace with regulatory certification processes, including audits by international civil aviation authorities, such as the FAA, in the United States.
The announcement was made on June 30, 2026, and formalized the creation of the Joby Toyota Aero Manufacturing Preparation Company. The new company will have a majority stake by Toyota, with 51%, while Joby will hold 49%.
Electric air taxi targets dense cities
The aircraft developed by Joby was designed to operate as an electric air taxi in densely populated metropolitan areas. The model has six tiltable rotors, which can orient for vertical takeoff and horizontal cruise flight.
This design allows for takeoff and landing without traditional runways, using conventional helipads or urban platforms. The aircraft can reach a maximum speed of up to 322 km/h, combining vertical operation with faster travel on urban and interurban routes.
The vehicle has the capacity to transport four passengers and a pilot. The proposal is to reduce travel time on certain routes and integrate the service into existing transportation systems through partnerships with ride-sharing companies and airlines.
Independent batteries enhance operational safety
The eVTOL’s electrical structure includes four sets of independent batteries. The configuration aims to maintain high levels of operational safety in case of an unforeseen failure in a cell, a sensitive point in electrically powered aircraft.
For Toyota, the initiative reinforces the transition from a traditional car manufacturer to a global mobility company. In this movement, electric flights are treated as a complement to the electrified vehicles already on the roads.
Still in the industrial preparation phase, the partnership shows how technologies associated with cars can influence the future of urban aviation. The challenge now is to transform engineering, certification, and scale production into a viable model of electric air mobility.
Why scale production is decisive
Urban air mobility seeks to use vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to connect points within a city or nearby regions without relying on long runways. In electric projects, noise reduction, operation in smaller areas, and integration with other modes are central factors. But the sector depends on rigorous certification, standardized production, and safety control to move beyond the experimental phase. Therefore, the entry of a manufacturer with experience in industrial scale draws attention: producing an electric aircraft in volume requires processes closer to certified aviation than to artisanal prototypes.
