<p>Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. After spending several years in the Pacific Northwest, she has returned to the Knoxville area.</p>


Science & Technology Editor

<p>Electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation is expanding its partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation. The Japanese carmaker has agreed to supply key&nbsp;components for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/joby-evtol">Joby’s eVTOL aircraft</a>, the companies announced on April 27.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Toyota will manufacture some components of the aircraft’s powertrain and actuators—devices that control its moving parts—before sending them to Joby’s powertrain and electronics manufacturing facility in San Carlos, California. Joby engineers there&nbsp;will then finish assembling the actuators and powertrain components and deliver&nbsp;them&nbsp;to the company’s pilot production facility in Marina, California, for integration into the four-passenger aircraft.</p>
<p>“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,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “Their expertise and knowledge have helped put us on track to deliver, at scale, an aircraft that we believe is truly best in class.”</p>
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            <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item">  <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/futureflight/import/Joby%20Aviation%20Delta%20Press%20Release%20Image.jpeg" width="8640" height="5760" alt="Joby has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles in flight testing for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft." title="Joby has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles in flight testing for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. (Image: Joby)">

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            <div class="field field--name-field-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Joby has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles in flight testing for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. (Image: Joby)</div>
      
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<figcaption>Joby has logged more than 10,000 nautical miles in flight testing for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. (Image: Joby)</figcaption>
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<p>Toyota has been working with Joby since 2020 when it <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2020-01-16/jobys-evtol-aircraft-program-boosted-toyotas-590-million-investment">invested $394 million</a> in the California-based eVTOL developer. With its vast experience and expertise in designing and manufacturing automobiles, including electric vehicles, Toyota has been a valuable asset to Joby as not only an investor but also as a supplier and strategic partner. In addition to providing aircraft components, Toyota has been helping Joby build its pilot production facility in Marina.</p>
<p>“They also collaborate with us on designs, manufacturing processes, layouts, quality management, development, and so on," Didier Papadopoulos, Joby's head of aircraft OEM, told <strong>FutureFlight</strong>. "So&nbsp;they're really integral to our business from beginning to end, and we're really grateful for that partnership.”</p>
<p>Initially, Joby’s Marina facility will produce about a dozen aircraft per year. The company is using the facility as a testbed for the aircraft manufacturing process before constructing a much larger Phase 1 production facility, which it says will be capable of building hundreds of aircraft per year. Joby is in the process of choosing a site for that&nbsp;facility. Rival eVTOL developer Archer Aviation recently announced that it will be building its full-scale production facility in Georgia.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Joby and Archer both plan to launch air taxi services using their eVTOL aircraft in 2025, shortly after achieving FAA type certification by the end of 2024. In February, Joby announced that it had completed the second of five stages of the certification process when the FAA approved its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-08/joby-completes-faa-means-compliance-evtol-aircraft-type-certification">means of compliance</a>, a document that details how the company intends to comply with all the safety rules defined in its certification basis. Around the same time, Joby announced that it had begun assembling the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-02-13/joby-starts-final-assembly-company-conforming-evtol-aircraft">first “company-conforming” version</a> of its eVTOL aircraft.</p>


Hanneke Weitering

Kazuhiro Sato (left) of Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby engineer Jordin Gischler (right) hold up a completed tilt actuator for Joby's eVTOL aircraft. The actuator was manufactured at Joby’s facility in San Carlos, California, with key parts supplied by Toyota. (Photo: Joby Aviation)

Joby Taps Toyota To Manufacture eVTOL Aircraft Components

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