British design and manufacturer of household appliances, Dyson, has announced an investment of £2bn to develop its own ‘radical’ electric cars.
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The British company, which is well-known for household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, hair bladeless fans, heaters and hair dryers has announced that the battery-powered electric cars are due to be launched in 2020.
James Dyson told staff in a letter, as quoted by a number of news outlets: “Competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential.”
According to Dyson’s letter, 400 staff have been working on the secret project for the past two years at its headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.
Dyson continued: “The project will grow quickly from here but at this stage we will not release any information. Competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential.”
According to sources from the BBC, James Dyson said the company would be spending £1bn on developing the car, with another £1bn on making the battery.
The BBC reported as well that James Dyson first had the idea of developing an e-vehicle in the late 1980’s, and since then the company has developed motors and batteries and now it is able to bring all that expertise in a new e-vehicle together.
And Dyson, according to BBC, underlines it will be a ‘radical car” that is not considered to be a ‘cheap’ car aimed for the mass market. The motor is designed and ready to go, Dyson said, but the firm is still designing the car.
Dyson’s decision means it is joining the rush within the global car industry to develop and make electric cars. Car manufacturers such as Tesla, Nissan, BMW, VW and many other are already striving to capture the e-vehicle market.
VW, for instance, had announced its plans to spend £17.5bn by 2030 to develop its battery powered vehicles.
The electric car market is growing rapidly at the moment, but it is also about to become a lot more competitive.
According to the latest Digital Auto Report 2017 from Strategy& – PwC’s strategic consulting team, electric and hybrid vehicles are likely to account for 58% of all new car sales in Europe, the US and China by 2025.
This forecast comes on the back of a policy push by both the French and UK Governments to ban petrol and diesel new car sales by 2040, with the Scottish Government aiming for 2032.
