Joby Aviation announced on September 18, 2023, that it has selected Dayton, Ohio, as the location for its new scaled production facility.
The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) developer already has a small-scale production facility in Marina, California, where it has manufactured the first prototypes of its eVTOL aircraft, which are currently undergoing flight tests. However, the Ohio factory represents a massive up-gauging of its industrial capacity.
Several sites from across the United States competed to host the new facility.
Joby is investing $500 million in the development of the new factory, which will be built on a 140-acre site next to Dayton International Airport (DAY). The state of Ohio and other local government entities are offering $325 million through industrial support schemes. The US Department of Energy may also provide additional support in the form of loans for clean energy projects.
Once it is in full production, Joby will be able to build up to 500 four-seater eVTOL aircraft per year at the new facility. It also expects to employ around 2,000 people at the facility, with hiring starting in the coming months.
Besides the merits of the site and the amount of financial support available, selecting Dayton to build the state-of-the-art eVTOL aircraft can also be considered symbolic given the fact that the Wright Brothers grew up and worked in the city, which is heralded as the birthplace of aviation.