Joby Aviation Inc. is aiming to start commercial services of its battery-powered air taxis in Dubai from late next year, the company's chief executive officer said Wednesday.
The electric aviation startup is one of several manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft designed to fly customers on short commuter journeys.
The company has said previously that it could be ready to begin commercial operations as soon as 2025, though certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration and regulators in other countries is still pending.
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"We're targeting the commercial launch in Dubai," CEO JoeBen Bevirt told analysts on a second-quarter earnings conference call. "Expect us to announce the groundbreaking on the first infrastructure there later this year, as well as first flights in the first half of next year, and commercialization towards the back half of the year."
Shares of Santa Cruz, California-based Joby rose 1 per cent in postmarket trading Wednesday to $4.96 as of 6:46 p.m. in New York. The company's stock is down 26 per cent this year.
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