Toyota and America's Joby Aviation are setting up a California joint venture to mass-produce eVTOL air taxis, with Toyota holding 51% and Joby 49%. Now that the flying is largely solved, the race hinges on whether anyone can build these aircraft cheaply and at scale. Here is why Toyota's production system is the bet, how China pulled ahead, and why Europe's pure-play startups collapsed.
Japan's SKYDRIVE eVTOL flew stably at 100 km/h, a speed that sounds modest but marks a key step toward type certification. We unpack why a compact, wingless multirotor is a deliberate bet, and how Japan stacks up against China's already-flying EHang and US rivals Joby and Archer.
Honda's full-scale eVTOL demonstrator, designated F1, completed its first flight in the US, hovering for about 90 seconds. Instead of going all-electric, Honda chose a gas-turbine hybrid built for 400km-plus intercity range. Here's the contrarian bet, and the F1 and HondaJet technology behind it.