© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Joby Aviation founder JoeBen Bevirt stands next to Joey Aviation Taxi prior to its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, US August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
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(This story was corrected on June 28 to add that Archer was certified to perform a flight test of his demonstration aircraft in paragraph 7)
(Reuters) – Joby Aviation said on Wednesday that the US aviation regulator has given its approval to conduct a flight test of its electric air taxi, bringing it one step closer to securing approvals for commercial operations.
The California-based company said Toyota North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa will join its board on Saturday. Toyota is Joby’s largest external shareholder, having invested about $400 million in the company.
Joby shares rose 26% to $8.04 in morning trade.
The company plans to begin commercial passenger operations in 2025. Unlike other electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturers, which plan to sell aircraft to clients such as airlines and logistics companies, Joby’s business model is similar to the rideshare app.
Once accredited, the eVTOL maker will compete in a crowded market with dozens of other developers such as Archer Aviation and Vertical Aerospace Ltd vying to revamp urban transport.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted a special certificate of airworthiness, Jobe said, which allows the first production prototype to be flight-tested without passengers.
Rival Archer has received the green signal for flight testing of its “Maker” experimental aircraft in 2021. But eVTOL maker certification deadlines are constantly being adjusted, highlighting the challenges that need to be addressed in the emerging sector.
In May, Vertical Aerospace delayed its entry into service by a year to 2026. “We believe the industry as a whole will see some corrections in the schedule, and we’re already seeing signs of peers doing that,” the company said in a letter to shareholders.
Last year, German company Lilium pushed back its deadline to 2025 from 2024.
The company said that the Joby aircraft will be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base after the completion of the initial tests. The delivery is part of Joby’s contract with the US Air Force. Under the agreement, the company will deliver the first two electric aircraft in March 2024.
