Flying taxis, once the subject of science fiction films, were widely expected to make a big splash by whizzing over the City of Light during Paris Olympics celebrations last summer – before being scrapped due to certification concerns became.
That doesn't stop Toyota from putting more money into air mobility.
The Japanese giant is making another $500 million investment in Joby, the California-based company that conducted the first test flight of an air taxi over the skies of a crowded US metropolis (New York City) last November. Just last month, Joby also signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates that could allow commercial passenger services to begin in Dubai as early as 2025.
Plans for commercial operations in the US are also underway: Delta Air Lines is partnering with Joby to eventually offer air taxis as a perk to its travelers, while United Airlines is partnering with Archer Aviation.
Air taxis, also known as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, promise a much faster, quieter and cleaner (carbon-free) mobility service compared to ground transport.
Joby says its electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. Some eVTOL vehicles are also designed for autonomous operation.
Toyota's interest in Joby began in 2019. With the latest tranche of funds, the Japanese giant has now invested almost $900 million to support the certification and commercial production of Joby's electric flying taxi.
Toyota says it is investing not only money, but also time and resources to share its knowledge of process planning, manufacturing and tool design with the Joby team in California. Last year, the two companies signed an agreement for Toyota to supply key propulsion and actuation components for Joby's aircraft.
Safety and certification processes remain the biggest hurdle to the full development of air taxi services, as the canceled Olympic flight of the German Volocopter demonstrated.
But many companies around the world, such as Hyundai and China's XPeng HT Aero, are also vying for a share of the air mobility market. According to consulting firm McKinsey, the market for ground taxi services and emailing is currently valued at $500 billion worldwide. And more than 20% of people who currently use these ground services can “definitely imagine” getting on air taxis.
Actual plans for air taxi operations in the US are still tied to airport-to-city service. But Joby, for its part, has been looking further into the future since acquiring Uber Elevate in 2020, hoping to one day pair its flying taxis with Uber's ride-hailing app.
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