Dive Brief:
- Joby Aviation is doubling its manufacturing capacity at its facilities in California and Ohio, the electric vertical take-off and landing plane maker announced last week.
- The company’s plans include increasing the Marina, California, facility’s space to 435,500 square feet, according to the press release. The company initially broke ground on the site last year.
- Joby is also “actively standing up” its manufacturing capacity at an existing renovated facility in Dayton, Ohio, a spokesperson said in an email. The company acquired a U.S. Postal Service facility at Dayton International Airport to jump-start production as it builds its $500 million air taxi manufacturing plant.
Dive Insight:
Joby spent about $15 million on property and equipment in the first quarter, Paul Sciarra, executive chairman, said in a May earnings call. The investments went toward expanding the California and Ohio facilities, test equipment as well as costs of its full-motion flight simulator for pilot training.
The investment totals for the Ohio and California sites was not disclosed.
Once the Marina site is fully operational, the facility is expected to produce up to 24 aircraft a year, the eVTOL manufacturer said. It will also house Joby’s certified full-motion flight simulator, which is set to arrive before year’s end, JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO, said during the earnings call.
Additionally, the Marina plant will provide other capabilities, including conforming ground and flight testing components, pilot training simulators and aircraft maintenance. It also includes the Federal Aviation Administration’s initial production certification, which enables companies to manufacture duplicate products under a type design approved by the agency.
The certification will also enable the company to get the FAA’s approval to operate an aircraft in flight.
As for the Dayton facility, the site will manufacture and test aircraft components for Joby’s pilot production line. Joby is installing equipment at the factory, which will establish the required FAA production certification capabilities and support the eVTOL maker’s plans to scale operations, according to the press release. The Dayton facility’s production ramp-up will progressively increase to build up to 500 aircraft per year.
Joby’s partnership with the Toyota Motor Corp. has enabled the eVTOL maker to scale its air taxi production. The automaker is Joby’s largest shareholder. In 2023, Toyota initially invested $400 million in the electric air taxi maker, and the two manufacturers signed a long-term supply agreement for powertrain and actuation components.
In October 2024, Toyota announced it plans to invest an additional $500 million to support Joby’s certification and commercial production. Joby closed the first installment of Toyota’s funds in the amount totaling $250 million in May.