Saudi Arabia's Abdul Latif Jameel group has committed to being a local distributor for Joby’s four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. A memorandum of understanding announced on June 3, calls for the delivery of up 200 of the vehicles and the provision of related services that Joby said could be worth $1 billion in total.
The companies have also agreed to explore plans to support the launch of air taxi services in Saudi cities, with pilot training and maintenance, repair and overhaul services. Modernizing urban mobility is one of several objectives forming the country’s Vision 2030 strategy.
According to Joby, the FAA has a working agreement with Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) that sets a framework for regulatory collaboration around certifying eVTOL aircraft. The company is aiming to achieve FAA type certification in time to start deliveries and launch commercial services in 2026, with Dubai set to host the first air taxi network using the Joby aircraft.
Family Backing For Joby
The Jameel family invested in Joby’s Series C funding round in 2020 led by Toyota Motor Corporation. For the past 70 years, the Abdul Latif Jameel group has been the Saudi distributor for the Japanese car maker. It also has interests in energy and water, financial services and health. Abdul Latif Jameel describes itself as "a network of distinct and wholly separate legal entities" that share a common brand name.
“Saudi Arabia is transforming toward a new era of mobility—one that is on-demand, shared, connected, and sustainable,” said company vice chairman Hassan Jameel. “We are looking forward to collaborating with Joby to support the transformation of the Kingdom’s mobility sector.”
In 2024, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics and GACA backed plans to use eVTOL aircraft to transport pilgrims to holy sites, and also for medical services. Other eVTOL aircraft developers, including Eve Air Mobility, Volocopter, Lilium and EHang have previously announced collaborative agreements in the country.
In May last year, Joby signed a deal with Saudi Aramco's Makumalah subsidiary that called for it to buy an unspecified number of eVTOL aircraft. The transportation services group, which already operates multiple helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, said it would help to develop plans for operations in the country.
Some of the focus for Saudi Arabia’s advanced air mobility ambitions have focus on the Neom development in the northwest of the country. However, this “smart city” initiative now appears to be in the process of being scaled back after widely reported cost overruns.