Joby Aviation, the global leader in air taxi, plans to launch a commercial air taxi flight team in Dubai next year, according to the Smart Financial APP. The CEO of the company stated that the company plans to launch its battery-powered air taxi business services in Dubai from the end of next year, which also means that Joby Aviation, which has focused on the low-altitude economy race track in the United States for many years, will expand its business scope to the Middle East.

This electric air taxi start-up is one of the top electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft manufacturers in the world. The aircraft is designed to provide passengers with efficient air travel based on short-range commuting, which significantly saves time and energy compared to land-based commuting. The company had previously stated that it might be ready to begin commercial operations as early as 2025, although certification work by the Federal Aviation Administration and other countries' aviation and space regulatory agencies is still underway.

"Our goal is to launch in Dubai commercially," CEO JoeBen Bevirt told analysts on the company's second-quarter earnings conference call. "We expect to announce the first infrastructure project there later this year, and a first attempt at a test flight mission in the first half of next year, and commercialization in the second half of the year."

As of Wednesday afternoon New York time, Joby Aviation, the air taxi leader based in Santa Cruz, California, rose more than 2% to $5.01 a share in post-market trading. But the company's stock has fallen more than 26% so far this year.

Joby Aviation reported a loss of 18 cents per share under GAAP for the second quarter, according to the latest results, which met analysts' expectations. The latest financial report showed that Joby Aviation's cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities investments as of the end of the second quarter of 2024 were $0.825 billion, a decrease of about $98.9 million.

The company emphasized that it had completed the certification work of four out of five important stages in the numerous testing plans submitted and accepted in the second quarter, and expects progress in the next stage to accelerate throughout the remainder of 2024.

Joby Aviation is a California-based company committed to developing fully electrified vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for use in urban air transportation and shared mobility services. The company's main product is a designed four-seater electric air taxi for a vertical take-off and landing with a flying speed of up to 200 miles per hour and a range of about 100 miles. The noise level of this aircraft is very low and almost imperceptible, making it ideal for use in urban environments.

Joby Aviation is committed to changing the traditional way of urban transportation and improving overall traffic efficiency through air taxi services. Among them, air taxi is the core part of the low-altitude economy vigorously promoted worldwide. The low-altitude economy involves commercial activities such as efficient passenger and logistics transportation in the low-altitude airspace, usually involving new types of air vehicles such as drones and eVTOLs. Joby's development plan is closely related to this low-altitude concept, and it is developing air taxi networks for cities and regions, which will greatly promote economic development activities in the low-altitude airspace.

According to a forecast report published by Mordor Intelligence, the air taxi market is expected to reach approximately $1.41 billion by 2024, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of up to 23% during the forecast period (2024-2029), with an estimated turnover of around $4.04 billion by 2029.

Mordor Intelligence stated that the main drivers of demand for the air taxi market are people's demand for alternative means of transportation and the increasingly serious traffic congestion in mega-cities. As the population of mega-cities continues to increase, traditional ground transportation faces many restrictions. Therefore, air taxis provide a promising, efficient, and convenient solution for short-distance travel and tourism around large cities.

The organization predicted that the air taxi system market would experience significant growth in the next few years, and major aviation and aerospace companies worldwide are expected to invest in developing air taxi systems. Various initiatives related to government and sustainable smart city projects may further promote this growth trend, and the air taxi system is expected to achieve large-scale commercial deployments during the forecast period.