Toyota’s $250M Backing Powers Joby’s Manufacturing and FAA Certification Push

Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY) just made a major move to further its air taxi goals. On Monday, the Californian eVTOL firm announced a definitive agreement to acquire Blade Air Mobility for $125 million.

Blade’s business model serves urban air mobility (UAM) by booking and routing short-distance flights. Its 24/7 MediMobility division, the largest such service in the U.S., is especially vital for rapid transportation of human organs, coordinating planes, helicopters, and ground vehicles.

However, the acquisition will exclude Blade’s medical division, which will go on as a separate public company. Although Joby gains Blade’s UAM passenger business, it is expected that MediMobility will partner with Joby to serve that niche market. Acquiring Blade’s assets means Joby gains access to the company’s ground hubs, specifically in New York City and Southern Europe, a coordination network of 12 terminals, and its proprietary route optimization platform. These are all key infrastructure ingredients for a successful, scaled air taxi service rollout.

Joby as One of the Top UAM Contenders

In early July, we extensively covered both Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. We maintain that these are the most realistic companies to materialize air taxis at scale. Although the current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations assume a pilot on board, both companies are also preparing for full autonomous flight.

In June 2024, Joby acquired Xwing Autonomy Division for that purpose, paving the way for unmanned air taxis. Xwing received its first FAA certification for unmanned aerial system (UAS) the year prior, having conducted over 250 fully autonomous flights.

Likewise, following the same robust engineering principles, both Archer and Joby ended up with vector-tilted thrust and five-person carry capacity (pilot + four passengers). Joby is also a beneficiary to Department of Defense (DoD) contracts, though to a lesser extent than Archer, owing to the company’s relationship with Anduril Industries.

However, that appears to change.

Joby’s Dip into the Military Arena

In early August, Joby started to catch up with Archer by partnering with L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) for a hybrid VTOL deployment in logistics and combat scenarios. L3Harris was formed in 2019 from the merger of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation, now indispensable in a wide range of solutions for avionics, command and control, electronic warfare systems, surveillance, navigation and other needs.

This new aircraft class would use a gas turbine for low-altitude missions, which could be either crewed or fully autonomous. First operational demonstrations of this hybrid VTOL should start in 2026.

“Our country depends on companies like ours moving at pace, and we have the team, the technology and the platform to do just that.” JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby Aviation, on the new partnership with L3Harris

This push goes hand in hand with President Trump’s executive order for “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” in early June. Unlike other EOs that are routinely blocked or challenged, these types of EOs pass as they ensure regime continuity.

Previously in April 2023, Joby added $55 million to its U.S. Air Force contract – Agility Prime – totalling to $131 million, by supplying the military with its standard nine aircraft.

Joby’s Expected Commercial Rollout and Price Targets

Owing to its tech-friendly regulations, the UAE’s Dubai will be the first to see Joby’s air taxis carrying passengers in the first half of 2026. Pending final FAA certification, the same time window is expected for the U.S. rollout as well. Cutting transportation time by nearly 4x, Joby’s air taxis are certified to connect Dubai International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, and Downtown Dubai.

On the domestic front mid-July, Joby doubled its manufacturing capacity by expanding its Marina facility in California. This is concurrent with the renovated Dayton facility in Ohio used for both manufacturing and testing critical components.

This infrastructure work is all done thanks to Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Corporation, which made the first $250 million strategic Joby investment in late May, out of previously announced $894 million in total.

“We’re already seeing the benefit of working with Toyota in streamlining manufacturing processes and optimizing design.” JoeBen Bevirt, CEO of Joby Aviation, on Toyota’s investments.

Given Toyota’s strong brand of reliability and innovation, this is bullish for Joby Aviation long-term.

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