DAYTON, Ohio: Under an agreement announced this week, Joby Aviation will produce state-of-the-art electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the state of Ohio.

"When you are talking about air taxis, that is the future. We find this very, very exciting, not only for the direct jobs and indirect jobs it is going to create, but like Intel, it is a signal to people that Ohio is looking to the future. This is a big deal for us," said Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine.

Joby will locate its first scaled manufacturing facility at a 140-acre (57-hectare) site at Dayton International Airport, near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories.

DAYTON, Ohio: Under an agreement announced this week, Joby Aviation will produce state-of-the-art electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the state of Ohio.

"When you are talking about air taxis, that is the future. We find this very, very exciting, not only for the direct jobs and indirect jobs it is going to create, but like Intel, it is a signal to people that Ohio is looking to the future. This is a big deal for us," said Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine.

Joby will locate its first scaled manufacturing facility at a 140-acre (57-hectare) site at Dayton International Airport, near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories.

Joby's eVTOL can transport a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, with a maximum range of 100 miles.

The Santa Cruz, California-based company plans to place the vehicles in aerial ridesharing networks from 2025, supported by partnerships with Toyota, Delta Air Lines, Intel, and Uber.

The $500 million project, planned to have a production capacity of up to 500 aircraft annually and create 2,000 jobs, is supported by up to US$325 million in incentives from Ohio.

The U.S. Department of Energy also invited Joby to apply for a loan allocated to clean energy projects to support the development of the facility.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said after an extensive and competitive search, the company chose Ohio, as while its financial package was not the largest, it was the birthplace of aviation and had a workforce experienced in the field.

"Ohio is the No. 1 state when it comes to supplying parts for Boeing and Airbus. Ohio is No. 3 in the nation on manufacturing jobs, and that depth of manufacturing prowess, that workforce, is critical to us as we look to build this manufacturing facility," Bevirt said.