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Joby eVTOL to Make Public Demonstration Flights at EXPO 2025 Osaka
California-based Joby Aviation is preparing to put its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft on public display at EXPO 2025 Osaka. The aircraft will operate in a special ANA livery to highlight Joby’s expanded partnership with ANA Holdings as both companies move toward launching an electric air taxi service across Japan.
Event details and what to expect
EXPO 2025 opens on October 1 in the Kansai region and runs for 13 days. The show promises rare demonstration flights from leading eVTOL manufacturers, and Joby is one of the headline participants. Attendees can expect piloted takeoffs and landings that emphasize the aircraft’s smooth, low-noise operation — a critical selling point for urban mobility and vertiport-based services.
Vehicle specifications
Joby’s aircraft is designed as a small passenger vehicle for urban air mobility. Key points include:
- Passenger capacity: four passengers plus a pilot.
- Propulsion: all-electric powertrain, with distributed vertical lift rotors and transition to wing-borne cruise.
- Range and speed: company-claimed figures include roughly 150 miles (about 240 km) of range and cruise speeds up to 200 mph (circa 320 km/h) — numbers that position the aircraft as a fast, short-haul electric vehicle for cities and regions.
- Emissions and noise: zero in-flight emissions and a design emphasis on significantly lower noise levels compared with traditional helicopters.
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Design and powertrain
Joby’s design focuses on aerodynamic efficiency and passenger comfort. The electric powertrain and battery system are optimized for repeated short flights typical of air taxi routes, and redundant propulsion elements improve safety and reliability. For car and aviation enthusiasts, the aircraft represents an intersection of EV powertrain thinking and aerospace-grade systems engineering.
Performance, ride comfort and maintenance
Performance is aimed at quick city-to-city hops and low operational noise for urban centers. Ride comfort benefits from the aircraft's stabilized flight profile and electric motor smoothness, while maintenance will rely on a structured support network — part of Joby and ANA’s planned ecosystem that includes dedicated vertiport servicing and trained technicians.
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Market positioning and strategic partnerships
Joby’s push into Japan follows an expanded strategic collaboration with ANA Holdings that targets a phased rollout starting in Tokyo and eventual deployment of 100+ aircraft across Japan. The joint venture model covers vertiport networks, aircraft maintenance, pilot training, and the customer-facing air taxi service. This is a long-term, capital- and regulation-intensive rollout that aims to position Joby as a leading provider of urban air mobility in one of the world’s most demanding city markets.
The Toyota advantage
Joby’s market entry is bolstered by a strategic partnership with Toyota. Toyota has invested heavily in Joby — including an additional $500 million announced prior to Joby’s first exhibition flight in Japan — bringing total known investment to $894 million. Beyond finance, Toyota is a manufacturing and engineering ally, working on production processes that will support Joby’s initial commercialization phase and vehicle manufacturing scale-up.
Comparisons: eVTOL vs helicopter and electric cars
Compared with helicopters, Joby’s eVTOL aims to offer quieter operation, lower per-trip emissions, and simpler vertiport integration. Versus electric cars, eVTOLs promise much faster point-to-point travel in congested urban areas but require new infrastructure such as vertiports and air traffic integration. For car enthusiasts interested in electric mobility, eVTOLs extend the EV vehicle category into three-dimensional urban transit.
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Timeline and global expansion
Joby completed its first exhibition flight in Japan at Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji Technical Center in Shizuoka in November 2024. The company is also expanding in the Middle East, with first passenger-carrying flights planned in Dubai later this year. The full-scale service in Japan will follow regulatory approvals, infrastructure development, and phased deployment led by the Joby-ANA joint venture.
What this means for automotive and mobility fans
For readers who follow vehicle design, performance metrics and electric powertrains, Joby’s program showcases how automotive-grade thinking — such as manufacturing partnerships, supply chain scale-up and battery-electric propulsion — is shaping next-generation air vehicles. As the industry matures, comparisons between high-performance EV cars and eVTOL aircraft will become increasingly relevant when evaluating urban mobility solutions.
Conclusion
Joby’s appearance at EXPO 2025 Osaka, carried in ANA livery and backed by Toyota, is a major milestone for urban air mobility. The demonstration flights will provide a practical glimpse at how an electric air taxi service could integrate with urban transport systems and what passengers can expect in terms of speed, comfort, and environmental performance.
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