Toyota Expands Its Role in Joby Air Taxi Venture

Toyota Motor Corp. is stepping up its involvement with Joby Aviation Inc., shifting from financial backer to hands-on manufacturing partner as the electric air taxi maker prepares to scale production.

According to the Japan Times, Toyota has deployed nearly 200 engineers to Joby’s California facilities to streamline assembly, strengthen supply chains, and apply the automaker’s famed production system to aircraft manufacturing. 

The move signals a strategic pivot: Toyota is no longer just writing checks. It is helping build the factory floor.

Joby is racing to certify and commercialize its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, designed to ferry passengers across congested cities. 

The company currently produces about one aircraft per month and aims to quadruple that rate by 2027, with longer-term ambitions of mass production. Scaling safely and efficiently remains the central challenge.

Toyota, which has committed roughly $1 billion to Joby and is its largest shareholder, is now troubleshooting production bottlenecks and refining processes typically used in high-volume automotive plants. 

Executives from both companies are exploring a broader manufacturing alliance that could accelerate certification timelines and cost reductions.

The partnership underscores Toyota’s expanding mobility strategy, moving beyond cars into next-generation transport. 

If successful, the collaboration could position the automaker at the center of the emerging urban air mobility market, a sector that promises rapid growth but demands industrial discipline to take off.