Joby Completes Third Stage of FAA Certification Process

  • Joby has now completed three of five stages of type certification process
  • First eVTOL company to reach this milestone towards commercialization

Joby’s all-electric aircraft in flight above Marina, California. Joby Aviation photo

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.--()--Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced it has become the first developer of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to complete the third of five stages of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) type certification process.

During the third stage of the process, Joby submitted certification plans that cover all of the aircraft’s structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, as well as the Company’s intended certification approach to cybersecurity, human factors, and noise.

These certification plans, which detail the tests and analyses that Joby will use to certify every aspect of its aircraft for commercial use, have now all been reviewed and accepted by the FAA, laying the groundwork for Joby to submit test plans and begin for-credit testing across every area of the Company’s aircraft program.

JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby, commented: “Joby continues to lead the industry towards bringing electric air taxis to the commercial market. Our certification and engineering teams are best-in-class and, working closely with the FAA, continue to support U.S. leadership in this new area of aviation.”

Joby is now fully focused on the fourth stage of the certification process, where the Company will complete tests and analysis for FAA credit covering every component and system on the Joby aircraft – as well as the entire aircraft itself.

“With all of our certification plans accepted by the FAA, we are now completely focused on the execution phase of the certification process. We have a clear path to certifying every aspect of our aircraft, and the team is full steam ahead on executing against that path as we continue to lead the industry to commercialization,” said Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Joby completed 30 for-credit tests covering a number of flight electronics units as well as structural materials. The testing methods and processes validated through these tests lay the foundation for the Company’s continued expansion of FAA for-credit testing.

Joby also recently received its Part 145 Repair Station Certificate from the FAA, allowing the Company to perform select maintenance activities on aircraft and marking another key step on the path to commercializing Joby’s electric air taxi service.

Joby’s electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.

About Joby

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the world. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the development and performance of our aircraft, our regulatory outlook, progress and timing; our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our aerial ridesharing service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project, and our ability to launch our service; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 1, 2023, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this presentation. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.