Toyota Motor Corporation and California-based aerospace pioneer Joby Aviation jointly announced on September 23, 2026, the commencement of intensive preparations for their first public exhibition flights in Japan of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft. Conducting operational trials at Toyota's Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka Prefecture, the partners are laying the groundwork for commercial advanced air mobility services across the archipelago.
The aircraft, engineered to carry a pilot and four passengers, achieves cruising speeds of up to 320 kilometers per hour (200 mph) with a single-charge range of 160 kilometers (100 miles). Driven by six distributed electric tilting propellers, the aircraft produces an acoustic footprint barely audible against background city noise, generating 45 decibels at cruise altitude—roughly a hundred times quieter than a conventional twin-engine helicopter.
Engineering Synergy: Toyota Powertrain Expertise Meets Aerospace Innovation
Toyota has evolved into far more than an early financial backer, having invested nearly $400 million in Joby while integrating high-volume automotive production discipline into aerospace assembly. Engineers from Toyota's Motomachi plant have collaborated on-site with Joby in California, designing precision tooling, composite body stamping methods, and automated electric motor manufacturing lines.
The Shizuoka flight campaign marks a critical milestone in securing regulatory airworthiness validation from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB). Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has established a specialized bilateral validation framework with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing FAA-certified design baselines to receive streamlined reciprocal approval in Japan.
“Air mobility has been a long-held dream for Toyota since our founding days. By combining Joby's revolutionary electric aircraft design with the Toyota Production System, we are bringing quiet, clean urban air travel closer to reality for Japanese society.”
JCAB Certification Pathways and Commercial Launch at Expo 2025
A central objective of the testing program is validating vertiport ground handling operations, rapid battery-pack recharging protocols, and acoustic conformity in varied Japanese atmospheric conditions. The data gathered at Higashi-Fuji will directly support Joby and ANA Holdings, Japan's largest airline group, who have formed an operating joint venture to introduce point-to-point passenger shuttle routes connecting Kansai International Airport with central Osaka.
The flight demonstrations serve as a high-profile dress rehearsal for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, where eVTOL technology will take center stage as an emblem of modern carbon-neutral transportation. With metropolitan congestion plaguing Tokyo and Osaka, Toyota and Joby are positioning electric aviation not merely as a novelty, but as a transformative transit network capable of linking regional airports, business districts, and island communities.
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