Toyota Motor Corporation and Joby Aviation have completed Joby's first international exhibition flight, which took place at Toyota's Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka, Japan.

The flight, completed in sight of Mount Fuji, marked an opportunity to demonstrate the low acoustic footprint of Joby's emissions-free aircraft and celebrate nearly seven years of collaboration between the two companies, during which time Toyota has supported Joby by providing insights from its extensive automotive manufacturing and technology expertise. Toyota engineers now work side-by-side with the Joby team in California and, in 2023, the two companies signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and actuation components for the production of Joby's aircraft.

“Our first overseas flight marks a significant milestone on our journey towards making clean air travel an everyday reality,” says JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “We share Toyota's vision for the future of mobility and are honoured to have had the opportunity to present a glimpse of that future through our flight in Japan.”

A wide range of stakeholders gathered at the test facility for an event to celebrate the exhibition flight and historic milestone, including Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, and representatives of Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau.

At the event, Hiroki Nakajima, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “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. Toyota is committed to deepening our collaboration with Joby and we will continue to work together to realise our shared dreams.”

The news comes weeks after Toyota committed to invest an additional $500 million in Joby to support the certification and commercial production of the company's electric air taxi. The additional funds will bring Toyota's total investment in Joby to $894 million and includes plans to establish a manufacturing alliance to support the first phase of commercialisation.