- Investment to be made in two equal tranches, with the first
targeted to close later this year and the second in 2025
- Funds will support certification and commercial production
of Joby's electric air taxi
- Investment terms to include plans to establish a
manufacturing alliance for the first phase of
commercialization
- Will bring total investment from Toyota Motor Corporation in
Joby to $894 million
TOYOTA CITY, Japan, and SANTA
CRUZ, Calif., Oct. 2, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota; NYSE: TM) and
Joby Aviation, Inc. (Joby; NYSE:JOBY), a company developing
electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today
announced that Toyota will invest an additional $500 million to support the certification and
commercial production of Joby's electric air taxi, with the aim of
realizing the two companies' shared vision of air mobility.
The investment, which will be made in two equal tranches, is
subject to standard regulatory approvals and certain other
conditions, finalization of collaborative and commercial agreements
and, with respect to the second tranche, the finalization of terms
related to a strategic alliance focused on commercial manufacturing
and certain other conditions. The investment, which will bring
Toyota Motor Corporation's total investment in Joby to $894 million, will be made in the form of cash
for common stock, with the first tranche targeted to close later
this year and the second in 2025. Further details of the investment
are available via the companies' regulatory filings with the
SEC.
"Today's investment builds on nearly seven years of
collaboration between our companies," said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO, Joby Aviation. "The knowledge and support shared
by Toyota have been instrumental in Joby's success and we look
forward to deepening our relationship as we deliver on our shared
vision for the future of air travel."
Joby continues to make important progress towards
commercialization, recently rolling its third aircraft off its
pilot production line in Marina,
California, and breaking ground on an expanded facility in
California that will more than
double the Company's manufacturing footprint. In August 2024, it confirmed that the fourth of five
stages of the type certification process is now more than one-third
complete on the Joby side.
"With this additional investment, we are excited to see Joby
certify their aircraft and shift to commercial production," said
Tetsuo "Ted" Ogawa, who signed the agreement as the Operating
Officer on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation. "We share Joby's
view that sustainable flight will be central to alleviating today's
persistent mobility challenges."
Toyota's additional investment reflects the continued aim of
Toyota Motor Corporation's founding family, starting with
Kiichiro Toyoda down to present-day
Chairman Akio Toyoda, to realize the
dream of air mobility for personal or daily travel as part of its
transformation into a mobility company.
Since 2019, in addition to monetary investments, Toyota has been
investing time and human resources to share its knowledge of the
Toyota Production System via process planning, manufacturing method
development, and tooling design. 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.
Toyota's relationship with Joby began through an initial
investment made by Toyota Ventures, the early-stage venture capital
arm of Toyota that explores and identifies disruptive technologies
and companies for investment opportunities and provides support for
portfolio companies. Toyota Motor Corporation subsequently
completed investments totaling $394
million.
The shares to be sold in the investment have not been, and will
not be, registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
("Securities Act"), or any state or other applicable jurisdiction's
securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an
effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from
the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable
state or other jurisdictions' securities laws. This press release
shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer
to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these
securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or
qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other
jurisdiction.
Photos of the signing ceremony and related video content,
including interviews with JoeBen
Bevirt and Tetsuo "Ted" Ogawa are available at this
link.
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a
California-based transportation
company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing
air taxi which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and
convenient service in cities around the world. To learn more,
visit www.jobyaviation.com.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius
hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building
vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus
brands, and directly employs more than 63,000 people in
North America (more than 49,000 in
the U.S.).
Over the past 65 years, Toyota has assembled nearly 47 million
cars and trucks in North America
at the company's 12 manufacturing plants. By 2025, the company's
13th plant in North Carolina will
begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified
vehicles.
Through our more than 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly
1,500 in the U.S.), Toyota sold more than 2.6 million cars and
trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2023, of which more
than one quarter were electrified vehicles (full battery, hybrid,
plug-in hybrid and fuel cell).
For more information about Toyota, visit
www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited
to, statements regarding the development and performance of Joby's
aircraft, the growth of Joby's manufacturing capabilities, the
regulatory outlook, progress and timing; planned operations;
business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; the timing
and general completion of the investment and the expected amount of
proceeds; the satisfaction of the conditions to the funding of the
investment; and the commercial relationship between Toyota and
Joby. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that
they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These
statements may include words such as "anticipate", "estimate",
"expect", "project", "plan", "intend", "believe", "may", "will",
"should", "can have", "likely" and other words and terms of similar
meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature
of future operating or financial performance or other events. All
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that may cause actual results to differ materially from those
implied by the forward-looking statements. Among those risks and
uncertainties are market conditions, the satisfaction of the
closing conditions related to each tranche of the investment and
risks relating to Joby's and Toyota's business, including those
described in periodic and current reports that Toyota and Joby file
from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Toyota and Joby may not consummate the investment described in this
press release and, if the investment is consummated, no assurances
can be provided regarding its ability to effectively apply the
proceeds of the investment or the success of the expanded alliance
among Joby and Toyota. The forward-looking statements included in
this press release speak only as of the date of this press release,
and Toyota and Joby do not undertake to update the statements
included in this press release for subsequent developments, except
as may be required by law.
Contacts
Joby Aviation
Investors: investors@jobyaviation.com
Media: press@jobyaviation.com
Toyota
Media: Aaron Fowles
aaron.fowles@toyota.com
469-292-1097
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SOURCE Toyota Motor Corporation