Shares of Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY) have performed exceedingly well on the bourse on May 28, 2025, closing the trading session at $8.86 per share, up 28.8% from the previous day's closing. The upside was owing to the announcement made by JOBY related to the successful closure of the first $250 million tranche of a previously announced strategic investment from Japan’s auto giant, Toyota Motor Corporation TM, for the certification and commercial production of Joby’s electric air taxi.
The upside in Joby's shares also indicates investor confidence in the future prospects of the air-taxi startup.
The initial investment news came on Oct. 2, 2024, when Toyota announced its plans to invest $500 million in California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company Joby. With this, Toyota’s total investment in Joby was $894 million, further cementing their partnership.
JOBY’s Latest Updates on Air Taxis
Earlier this month,Joby announced that it had successfully flown two of its aircraft simultaneously for the first time, marking another important milestone in its flight-testing program.
Meanwhile, Joby has partnered with Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Uber Technologies (UBER) to bring the aircraft to the United States and is targeting New York and Los Angeles as launch markets, pending certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Outside the United States, Joby recently announced a partnership with Virgin Atlantic to bring its service to the UK and has partnered with ANA Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest airline, to bring its service to Japan.
So far, Joby has completed more than 40,000 miles of test flights across multiple aircraft, which includes demonstration flights in New York City, Korea and Japan. Its sixth aircraft is undergoing final checks, while two others are stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, where they are completing testing in conjunction with JOBY’S defense customers. These milestones reflect Joby’s rapid progress toward launching safe, sustainable electric air taxi services worldwide.
To Conclude
This capital injection is aimed at accelerating Joby’s certification process and commercial production, signaling Toyota’s belief in the future of urban air mobility. Toyota’s investment in Joby is part of a broader strategy to diversify its portfolio across various transportation technologies.
The deal marks both companies’ collective efforts in delivering next-generation travel to global markets. Both companies are uniting in a strategic manufacturing alliance.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, stated, “We’re already seeing the benefit of working with Toyota in streamlining manufacturing processes and optimizing design. This is an important next step in our alliance with Toyota to scale the promise of electric flight. With this capital and Toyota’s legendary production expertise, we’re enhancing our ability to scale cutting-edge design and manufacturing to meet the demands of our partners and customers.”
Currently, JOBY carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Toyota Motor Corporation (TM): Free Stock Analysis Report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER): Free Stock Analysis Report Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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