Japanese automaker Toyota plans to invest $500 million – equivalent to SEK 5.1 billion – in Joby Aviation, an American air taxi startup that aims to launch a commercial service as early as next year. It reports Financial Times.
The California-based company Joby Aviation was founded in 2009 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 2021.
The company is one of several players in the aviation industry that hopes to make the vision of emission-free "urban air mobility" a reality.
However, Joby is among the better-capitalized players in the sector and has so far raised more than $2 billion even before the latest Toyota investment, writes the Financial Times.
The latest investment from Toyota brings the automaker's total investment to nearly $900 million.
The investment also increases Toyota's stake in Joby to "more than 20 percent," according to the FT.
The company's founder, JoBen Bevirt, has stated that the company is focused on launching its first commercial service in Dubai next year.
A production line in Marina, California, is operational with plans to increase production capacity to one vehicle per month by the end of the year.
Since its listing in 2021, Joby Aviation has lost just over 40 percent of its market capitalization. Since the turn of the year, the stock is down 7.7 percent.
Source: Nyhetsbyrån Direkt-DI.SE
