Susono, JAPAN and Santa Cruz, Calif.―November 2, 2024―Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) and Joby Aviation (Joby) came together at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center (Shizuoka, Japan) to assert their collective passion and ambition for air mobility in a gathering that included executives from both companies, Akio Toyoda, the chairman of the Toyota Group, and Joby CEO and founder, JoeBen Bevirt, along with Joby’s air taxi, an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL*).
Since its founding, Toyota has been working to realize a society in which everyone can move freely. About 100 years ago, in 1925, Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Group, offered a prize to encourage the development of a storage battery that could provide enough performance “to fly an airplane across the Pacific Ocean.” Since then, Toyota has continued to focus on the challenge of air mobility through the generations. Toyota Motor Corporation founder Kiichiro Toyoda also expressed a strong interest in the aircraft business, making prototypes of helicopters and aircraft components. After World War II, among other developments, Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda was involved in the joint development of the world’s first electronically controlled aero piston engine with an American company at Toyota’s Higashi Fuji Technical Center, which could be described as the birthplace of Toyota’s development of air mobility. Today, Sakichi’s dream carries on, with batteries seen as a viable source of power for eVTOL.
As Toyota transforms into a mobility company, it has been able to work with other great companies like Joby to find new and exciting opportunities. Joby’s CEO, JoeBen Bevirt, is driven by his passion and dreams that “look forward to a world where our environmental footprint is smaller, a world where we’re able to spend more time with the people and places that matter most to us, without having to worry about traffic jams.” Akio Toyoda, chairman of the Toyota Group, has ambitions to bring the freedom of mobility to all people. The two leaders met and began a journey together. The culmination of the efforts of both companies over the last seven years, in which Joby’s dream and passion for air mobility as a startup met Toyota’s expertise in production processes and technology development, led to Joby’s first air taxi exhibition flight overseas in Japan.
- JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby (left), Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation (right)
“This is a moment we have been looking forward to for a long time and marks a significant milestone on our journey towards making clean air travel an everyday reality,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby. “We share Toyota’s vision for the future of air travel and are honored to have had the opportunity to present a glimpse of that future through our exhibition flight in Japan.”
“Air mobility has the potential to change our ‘sense of distance and time,’ and open a future with the new option of air mobility that will further enrich the lives of many people,” said Hiroki Nakajima, member of the board and executive vice president of Toyota Motor Corporation. “Toyota is committed to deepening our collaboration with Joby and we will continue to work together to realize our shared dreams.”
Toyota is committed to building on its mobility businesses to deliver mobility for all, and to bring smiles to people’s faces. Together, Toyota and Joby will work to realize a future that offers more freedom and prosperity to all.
About electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL)
An eVTOL is a type of aircraft designed for short-range, high-frequency operations suitable for the on-demand air taxi market, which is expected to be utilized by commuters, business travelers, and tourists in urban areas. Combining elements from helicopters, drones, and small aircraft, eVTOLs aim to excel in reliability, environmental performance (zero operating emissions), quiet operation, operational and maintenance costs, enhanced safety features, and more.
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“Achieving zero, and adding new value beyond it”
As part of efforts to pass our beautiful “³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Planet” to the next generation, Toyota has identified and is helping to solve issues faced by individuals and overall society, which Toyota calls “Achieving Zero,” hoping to help reduce the negative impacts caused by these issues to people and the environment to zero. Additionally, Toyota is also looking “Beyond Zero” to create and provide greater value by continuing to diligently seek ways to improve lives and society for the future.
- About Beyond Zero
Toyota Motor Corporation works to develop and manufacture innovative, safe and high-quality products and services that create happiness by providing mobility for all. We believe that true achievement comes from supporting our customers, partners, employees, and the communities in which we operate. Since our founding over 80 years ago in 1937, we have applied our Guiding Principles in pursuit of a safer, greener and more inclusive society. Today, as we transform into a mobility company developing connected, automated, shared and electrified technologies, we also remain true to our Guiding Principles and many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to help realize an ever-better world, where everyone is free to move.
- SDGs Initiatives
