Joby and Toyota form a manufacturing joint venture

Joby Aviation and Toyota Motor Corporation have established a joint venture, the first phase of a strategic manufacturing alliance announced on 30 June. The initial focus is laying the groundwork for commercial production and improving productivity, quality and cost. Beyond that, the alliance is intended to expand Joby's production capacity — both to support the aircraft certification process and to meet expected demand for its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The relationship is not new. JoeBen Bevirt, Joby's founder and chief executive, said Toyota "has been by Joby's side for nearly a decade, providing invaluable guidance and support as we built the foundation for manufacturing our aircraft". What changes is the structure: an advisory and investment relationship becoming a jointly owned manufacturing entity. For Santa Cruz, the interesting part is what is being imported rather than what is being built. Joby designs and engineers here and manufactures at Marina, and the hardest problem in front of it is not flight — it is making the same aircraft repeatedly, to aviation tolerances, at a rate that justifies the factory. Toyota's production system is arguably the most studied answer to that question anywhere. A company that started in the mountains above this town is now formally learning to build things the way Toyota builds things, which is a more consequential detail for local hardware manufacturers than the aircraft itself. Reported by Joby Aviation. Read the original: https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-aviation-and-toyota-motor-corporation-launch-initial-phase-of-a-strategic-manufacturing-alliance-to-realize-air-mobility-for-all