Toyota is investing another $500 million in Joby Aviation as part of a partnership aimed at helping get the American air taxi company's commercial business off the ground.
Toyota's investment will be used to support certification and production of Joby's electric air taxi, the companies said Wednesday, and brings Toyota Motor Corporation’s total investment in Joby to $894 million. After the investment, which will come in two equal tranches later this year and next, Toyota will own about 22% of Joby's outstanding shares.
“Today’s investment builds on nearly seven years of collaboration between our companies,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO, Joby Aviation. “The knowledge and support shared by Toyota has been instrumental in Joby’s success and we look forward to deepening our relationship as we deliver on our shared vision for the future of air travel.”
Joby said it recently rolled its third aircraft off the production line and said in August that the fourth of five certifications was in progress.
In addition to the cash investment, Toyota has been spending time and human resources to share its design and manufacturing methods. The Japanese automaker said its engineers are working with Joby's team at its California headquarters.
Last year, the companies signed a long-term agreement for Toyota to supply key powertrain and other components for the production of Joby’s aircraft.
FILE - An electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, flies above the Joby eVTOL aircraft, during a demonstration of eVTOLs Nov. 13, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
Low interest financing, sweet lease deals, price cuts and free charging boosted Tesla’s global deliveries in the third quarter, the first increase this year for the electric vehicle maker.
The Austin, Texas, company said Wednesday that it delivered 462,890 vehicles from July through September, bolstered by loans as low as 1.99%, and $299 monthly leases on the Model 3, its least expensive vehicle. It delivered 435,059 vehicles during the same period last year.
The figures for July through September came in slightly higher than analyst estimates of 462,000 for the period, according to data provider FactSet.
However, shares of Tesla Inc. dropped sharply in morning trading, down nearly 4%.
The deliveries were “good and a step in the right direction,” wrote Dan Ives of Wedbush, but that there would be pressure on the company's stock because investors had been hoping for even better.
“Overall, this is a clear improvement from the first half and we believe getting in the range of 1.8 million for the year is still the key and important bogey,” Ives said.
Tesla has struggled much of the year to sell its aging model lineup as growth in electric vehicle sales in the U.S. and Europe slowed due to concerns with range, price and the ability to charge on trips.
Falling sales early in the year led to once-unheard of discounts for the automaker, cutting into its industry leading profit margins. Analysts estimated that Tesla’s average vehicle sales price was $42,500 for the third quarter, the lowest price in four years.
The sales decline likely will pull down third quarter earnings when they are announced on Oct. 23.
Tesla’s sales decline comes as competition is increasing from legacy and startup automakers, which are trying to nibble away at the company’s market share.
Nearly all of Tesla’s sales came from the smaller and less-expensive Models 3 and Y, with the company selling only 22,915 of its more expensive models that include X and S, as well as the new Cybertruck.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note to investors Tuesday that third-quarter sales would bring a rebound as China sales continue to increase and price and demand stabilizes.” As China continues to heat up on the demand story for Tesla with favorable leasing/financing terms and pent-up demand in the region, we are confident that we will see a significant growth figure in the region,” he wrote.
Europe will continue to be slow with macroeconomic pressures, and U.S. demand should stabilize, Ives wrote.
But BNP Paribas Exane said in an investor note that long term expectations of the market are somewhat high for Tesla. The company said its sales estimates for 2026 and 2027 “remain 10% to 15% below the street, respectively.”
Tesla is scheduled to unveil a purpose built robotaxi at an event next week.
FILE - A Tesla Model 3 charges at a Tesla supercharging station situated in the parking lot of an outlet mall Sept. 25, 2024, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
FILE - Visitors look over a 2024 Cybertruck in the Tesla display at the Electrify Expo, July 14, 2024, in north Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
