Electric aircraft maker Joby Aviation (JOBY.N) will invest up to $500 million to build a new facility in Dayton, Ohio, where it will mass produce air taxis, the company said on Monday. The 140-acre site at Dayton International Airport will be the first serial production location for the company, as opposed to the prototypes built at its pilot production line in California. Toyota Motor Corp, the automaker’s largest external investor, and a long-term partner, will work with Joby to design the factory.
The company plans to operate its all-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft as part of aerial ridesharing networks in congested cities worldwide. Its eVTOL aircraft can carry a pilot and four passengers, travel up to 200 miles per hour with zero operating emissions, and are designed to make almost no noise in flight. The company has partnerships with rideshare companies like Uber and Delta Air Lines.
Shares of Joby rose 0.5% in premarket trading on the news. The company is expected to create 2,000 jobs at the plant, which it expects to be operational in 2025. It is expected to produce 500 eVTOLs annually at the facility.
Joby is one of several start-ups betting on the future of electric aircraft for passenger transport and cargo delivery. Its competitors include Archer Aviation and Blade Urban Air Mobility, which have both gone public recently. Unlike those firms that plan to sell their aircraft directly to airlines and logistics firms, Joby aims to provide an app-based service where it owns and operates the aircraft.
As the world moves toward more environmentally friendly ways of traveling, some cities are opening up more space for flying. In the United States, cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago are working to develop and expand their networks of high-altitude air routes so that people can easily access them without the need for traffic jams and parking lots.
However, such plans are still in their early stages and face hurdles such as regulatory approval and supporting infrastructure development.
With its manufacturing plan in place, Joby hopes to be at the forefront of the global shift toward electric aviation. The company has already begun to see solid commercial interest in its vehicles, which are set to debut in 2024, and it has partnerships with significant aviation players such as Delta and Toyota.
The new factory will help Joby accelerate its timeline to get to total production. It is preparing to win Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its full-scale vehicle, which the company hopes to achieve this year. It is also gaining experience with its aircraft through a program at the Pentagon that allows it to fly piloted cargo flights under the FAA’s Agility Prime Small Business Innovation Research initiative. The Air Force program is expected to lead to the deployment of Joby’s eVTOL aircraft for military operations in the future.
