The once far-fetched future of flying cars has gotten a major vote of confidence from an industry giant.
What happened: Toyota is investing US$500 million in flying taxi startup Joby Aviation, doubling down on its stake in the company and the future of electric air travel.
- The automaker, which already provides parts and engineers to Joby, will now own over 20% of the startup.
- With Toyota’s funding, Joby will expand manufacturing in California to pump out more air taxis and, as early as next year, launch commercial taxi services in Dubai.
Why it matters: Having the continued financial backing and engineering expertise of one of the world’s largest automakers brings the startup’s Jetsons-like vision for flying taxis closer to becoming a reality.
- Joby’s ultimate goal is to have a service that lets users order an air taxi as they would a car on Uber. We’re guessing it would be slightly more expensive.
What’s next: In the short term, air taxis will likely be used for simple, high-demand routes like city hubs to airports — a service that Joby’s competitor Archer Aviation plans to launch in Chicago next year.—LA