Joby Aviation (JOBY) said on Tuesday that it has expanded its manufacturing site in Marina, California, allowing it to double its aircraft production.
The manufacturing site now spans roughly 435,500 square feet and will support the company’s planned scale-up of commercial operations.
The company also has a manufacturing site in Ohio.
The expansion of its production comes over a month after Joby completed a series of piloted, vertical-takeoff-and-landing wingborne test flights in Dubai.
The company called the successful test flights a “historic milestone” that was a first for the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft sector.
Joby says it is on a path to launch its commercial operations with passengers in the United Arab Emirates beginning next year.
With the expansion of its production facility in California, the company has also expanded its flight test program with the addition of a new aircraft to its growing fleet.
“Reimagining urban mobility takes speed, scale, and precision manufacturing,” Eric Allison, Joby’s chief product officer, said in a statement. “Our expanded manufacturing footprint in both California and Ohio is preparing us to do just that,” said
He added that Joby also tested its sixth aircraft, “which earned airworthiness certification within a week of completion.”
Once it's fully operational, the expanded facility will be able to produce up to 24 aircraft per year, which would be approximately one every other week.
It will also provide key capabilities for Joby, including its initial FAA production certification, conforming ground and flight testing components, pilot training simulators, and aircraft maintenance.
Investments spur growth
Joby was awarded a $9.8 million dollar grant in 2023 from the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) to accelerate its growth.
As part of the agreement, Joby committed to investing $41.3 million in California and creating 690 additional full-time jobs in the state by 2027.
Joby then announced in June that Saudi Arabian firm Abdul Latif Jameel was making an investment worth approximately $1 billion for up to 300 of its eVTOLs.
Adbdul Latif Jameel was an investor in Joby’s Series C funding round.
The two companies will focus on the Saudi Arabian market as part of the deal, exploring distribution and sales collaborations, the launch of local air taxi services, and pilot training.
The company also received a $250 million investment from Toyota (TM) in May as part of what Joby called a "significant milestone" in its long-standing collaboration with the automaker.
Toyota, already Joby’s largest external shareholder, had invested $400 million into the electric air taxi company before this latest deal.
Toyota President and CEO Tetsuo "Ted" Ogawa joined Joby’s board in 2023, cementing the strategic alignment between the two firms.
Joby noted in its latest announcement that Toyota engineers are “deeply integrated” with the company’s team, providing support for Joby's work across design, manufacturing, and quality.
The company’s stock rose as high as 17% on Wednesday and has soared 100.8% YTD.
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