One of the biggest car companies in the world is deepening their bet on a new area of technology: electric takeoff and landing aircraft.
What’s happening:
- Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) has announced they will invest an additional $500M USD into electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft company Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY)
Why it matters:
- Joby is one of the leading publicly traded companies pursuing electric takeoff and landing aircraft and has made significant strides towards commercial adoption in both North America and the Middle East
By the numbers:
- Toyota will invest $250M USD into Joby in two equal tranches of financing which are both expected to close sometime over the next 12 months
- Following the completion of the new $500M of funding, Toyota will have have invested a total of $894M USD into Joby
Going deeper:
- Joby recently made waves with their application to become the first legal operator of electric air taxis in the UAE, filing an official application with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority
- Toyota is not the only giant to begin betting on electric takeoff and landing aircraft, with Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) recently announcing a partnership with Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) to establish a regional network for electric air taxi flights within the state of California in an effort to decarbonize short distance travel
