Joby Aviation, the Santa Cruz, California-based air taxi startup that successfully completed a series of piloted, vertical-takeoff-and-landing wingborne flights in Dubai in association with the Road and Transport Authority (RTA), has revealed plans to double aircraft output capacity at its main production site in California.
Joby said it will expand its production site in Marina, California. The total site now spans approximately 435,500 square feet and will support the scale-up of commercial operations.
The company’s stock has soared about 42.2 per cent since it announced its Dubai test flights on June 30. The share was priced at US$9.81 on 1 July, and closed on Tuesday (5 July) at $13.95.
Eric Allison, Chief Product Officer, commented: “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.
“We celebrated the opening of the new facility with the flight of our sixth aircraft, which earned airworthiness certification within a week of completion.”
Joby expands production for air taxis
The opening of the new manufacturing space will be a big step forward as Joby gets ready to scale production and enter the market. Using tools like advanced data analytics and 3D printing, Joby produces components that are lighter, stronger and more flexible. With its newly expanded Marina facility, the company plans to add hundreds of full-time jobs to support increased aircraft production.
Once fully operational, the expanded site is expected to be capable of producing up to 24 aircraft per year. It will also provide key capabilities, including its initial FAA production certification, conforming ground and flight-testing components, pilot training simulators, and aircraft maintenance.
The Marina site strengthens Joby’s broader manufacturing network, which includes three additional facilities – Santa Cruz, CA, the headquarters driving innovation and system architecture; San Carlos, CA, focused on powertrain and electronics; and in Dayton, Ohio, where a newly renovated facility that will manufacture and test aircraft components for Joby’s Pilot Production Line.
The Dayton site supports Joby’s plans to scale operations. Equipment installation is underway, with production ramping up to eventually build up to 500 aircraft a year at that location.
Joby said that engineers from Toyota Motors, which became its largest shareholders in May, are “deeply integrated” into operations in areas such as design, manufacturing and quality control.
Toyota engineers also help the Joby team optimise processes, streamline assembly, and offer advice related to the development of custom tooling to accelerate production.
