Joby Aviation is developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service. Now the company has announced the expansion of its site in Marina, California, which will double its aircraft production capacity at that location. Joby has also expanded its flight test program, adding a new aircraft to its fleet.

Joby designs, builds, and tests its aircraft in the US. The company is vertically integrated, handling “nearly every aspect of its aircraft and air taxi service” in-house, from design and manufacturing to pilot training and operations.

Toyota is one of Joby’s major investors, and the automaker’s engineers are deeply integrated with the Joby team, supporting Joby’s work across design, manufacturing and quality control. Toyota also helps the Joby team optimize processes, streamline assembly and develop custom tooling to accelerate production.

Once fully operational, the expanded Marina site is expected to be able to produce up to 24 aircraft per year. It will also provide FAA production certification, conforming ground and flight testing components, pilot training simulators and aircraft maintenance.

Joby’s HQ is in Santa Cruz, California. Another facility in Carlos, California focuses on powertrain and electronics. In Dayton, Ohio, the company has a newly renovated facility that will manufacture and test aircraft components for Joby’s Pilot Production Line. Equipment installation is underway at the Dayton site, where the company expects to eventually ramp up production to 500 aircraft a year.

“Reimagining urban mobility takes speed, scale, and precision manufacturing. Our expanded manufacturing footprint in both California and Ohio is preparing us to do just that,” said Eric Allison, Chief Product Officer. “We celebrated the opening of the new facility with the flight of our sixth aircraft, which earned airworthiness certification within a week of completion.”

In 2023, Joby was awarded a $9.8-million grant from the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to accelerate its growth. The company also benefited from a program through the California State Treasurer’s Office, which helped reduce equipment costs by $10 million.

Source: Joby Aviation