Why Toyota Invested $250 Million In An Air Taxi Startup

One of the hot buzz words in the automotive world right now is mobility. Several car companies are shifting their focus towards "mobility" in several mediums instead of just four-wheeled, human-piloted transportation. What does that mean? Generally, it refers to a few different modes of transportation, like self-driving cars and cars with high-level driver aids, but increasingly it's including things like eVTOLs — a futuristic mode of transportation. The acronym eVOTL stands for electric vertical take off and landing, which is one of the newest forms of potential transportation. Powered by batteries in most cases, eVTOLs are essentially private aircraft that operate like helicopters. Some companies are already taking orders for personal eVTOL aircraft that don't even require a pilot's license. 

Toyota, along with other major auto manufacturers like Nissan and Honda, have started to add mobility products like these to their stable of offerings — or at least the promise of future offerings. Recently, Toyota invested in that promise in a big way. Late last year, Toyota announced an investment of $500 million into a company called Joby Aviation, and the aviation company says they have now received half of that money from Toyota — $250 million. According to Toyota, air transportation is a challenge that they have been tackling for generations. As early as 1925, Sakichi Toyoda was encouraging the development of batteries to get planes across the Pacific Ocean. Now, Toyota says, the latest batteries are seen as a viable power source and the further realization of this dream.

According to Toyota, the investment they've made into Joby is aimed at supporting certification, establishing manufacturing, and commercially producing a futuristic "air taxi." Joby is an aerial rideshare service that uses eVTOL vehicles to get passengers to their destination via sky travel, and they're making some big claims, so having a manufacturing partner like Toyota could certainly help those claims come to life. According to Joby, their aircraft can reach speeds of up to 200 mph and taking the Joby can save you significant time when commuting across cities like New York — it would certainly save you some headaches from traffic.

We've seen some videos of the Joby in flight, but you can't currently book a ride, so don't give up your car just yet. Because of battery sizes, eVTOL vehicles will have limited range, and they're most likely to be used in urban areas, rather than the long, trans-pacific flights Sakichi Toyoda dreamt about. It's also a bit questionable whether flying cars can be sold to the public just yet, so you likely won't be parking one in your backyard or on the roof of your apartment building anytime soon. Toyota isn't the first major automaker to get into eVTOLs, though. Honda also has an eVTOL, but it uses a gas turbine hybrid unit that allows for an overall range of about 250 miles. According to Joby, their current EV range is about 150 miles on a single charge.