Joby, Toyota announce joint venture for air taxi production
June 30 (Reuters) - Joby Aviation and Toyota Motor announced a joint venture on Tuesday to produce the air taxi maker's S4 series, as it looks to secure government approval to deploy its commercial electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
Air taxi firms such as Joby are competing to secure approvals and commercialize their all-electric aircraft in a bid to meet growing demand for faster and more sustainable urban transportation.
Here are some more details:
• Shares of Santa Cruz, California-based Joby rose 7% in premarket trade.
• The Joby Toyota Aero Manufacturing Preparation Company, or JTAMPC, will have two directors from Joby and three from Toyota, the companies said on Tuesday.
• According to the terms of agreement, Joby will grant the joint venture exclusive rights to manufacture the S4 Series aircraft and license relevant intellectual property on a royalty-free basis.
• Joby will own 49% of JTAMPC while Toyota will own the rest.
• Earlier this year, Joby conducted a week-long test of the first point-to-point air taxi demonstration flights in New York City.
• Joby's air taxi is a six-rotor electric aircraft capable of vertically taking off and landing like a helicopter and flying level like an airplane, with room for a pilot and four passengers.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)