Photo by Joby Aviation On Wednesday morning, Joby Aviation announced a major expansion of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft production facility. The company, which became publicly traded through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) merger in 2021, is racing to launch its air taxi services. The recently updated facility is 435,500 square feet. It will be critical to Joby’s ambitious plans for starting commercial operations.
Joby plans to start its air taxi operations in Dubai in early 2026. This tactical launch will be the company’s first foray into the commercial aviation market. Following the launch in Dubai, Joby has announced plans to expand to a second city in the U.S. They haven’t publicly announced the locations or what neighborhoods will see this expansion first.
As the largest of its kind in the world, the expanded facility will dramatically accelerate Joby’s production capacity. Once fully operational, it will produce 24 aircraft annually. That equates to the plant producing almost one aircraft every two weeks! At the very least, this capacity increase seems necessary as Joby gears up to meet the demand that UAM solutions are expected to have.
Manufactured at scale, Joby’s eVTOL aircraft will be the backbone of efficient and environmentally-friendly transportation alternatives in congested urban environments. As a result, the company is one of the leaders in the sustainable aviation technology race. With it, the new facility celebrates an important milestone in achieving its operational objectives.
The strategic decision to increase production capacity comes amid an increasing global demand for innovative public transportation solutions. With urban populations surging, traffic congestion is becoming a larger issue. Joby imagines its air taxis changing the way people travel around cities and metropolitan areas.