Joby Aviation to build air taxi factory in Ohio

Joby Aviation is a leading electric aircraft maker that plans to launch air taxis in 2025. The company will build a new facility in Dayton, Ohio, to mass produce its innovative eVTOL aircraft. Joby Aviation aims to revolutionize urban mobility with its safe, quiet and sustainable air transportation solutions.

Joby Aviation, a company that develops electric aircraft for urban air mobility, announced on Monday that it will invest up to $500 million to establish a new production facility in Dayton, Ohio. The facility, which will occupy 140 acres at Dayton International Airport, will be the first of its kind to mass produce eVTOL air taxis for the global market. The company's founder, JoeBen Bevirt, said that Joby is working hard to obtain FAA certification for its eVTOL aircraft by 2025, when it plans to launch commercial passenger service in select cities.

Joby plans to start recruiting "as soon as possible" to establish manufacturing of aircraft parts at existing buildings at the Dayton site, Bevirt said. Construction of the new production facility will commence in 2024, with operations to launch in 2025.

Bevirt did not disclose the initial production rates and how much funding would be immediately allocated to build the Dayton facility. The state of Ohio and several political organizations have offered up to $325 million in incentives and benefits to develop the Dayton site, Joby said.

In the long run, the site could accommodate manufacturing facilities that occupy more space than the Pentagon, support 2,000 jobs and the production of 500 aircraft per year, Joby said.

Unlike eVTOL competitors like Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies, which intend to sell aircraft directly to airlines and logistics companies, Joby's business model more closely resembles rideshare apps, where customers can request a ride on an air taxi owned and operated by the company.

While Joby has been flying full-scale aircraft since 2017, it unveiled its first production-representative prototype in June, which can fit four passengers and a pilot.

Bevirt said the company is "ramping up the testing team aggressively" to conduct the thousands of tests and evaluations necessary to attain FAA certification.