Dyson throws his hat in to making electric cars

The billionaire who revolutionised the vacuum cleaner said 400 engineers in Wiltshire had been working since 2015 on the £2.5bn project, Sir James Dyson, the inventor who was knighted in 2007 New Year honours list, is in the race to build tomorrows electric vehicles. ” I decided to start developing electric motors and batteries, as electric cars are the only solution to mounting air pollution. His company plans to develop a suite of fully electric vehicles by 2020. He thinks although China will be the largest market for electric cars, UK will be a strong candidate as a manufacturing location for the car.

If he can pull it off, it would a feather in his cap for Sir James, whose privately owned group has transformed the market with innovative products ranging from hairdryers to bladeless fans and air purifiers. The company can draw Dyson’s core strengths on its experience of building powerful miniature motors for its products can be easily adapted for a car and also the group’s experience in developing batteries over the last two decades could be a great help. Dyson will use solid-state cells which are safer and can hold higher power and could charge more quickly.

Dyson’s record in the high-end products has fuelled a fourfold increase in its revenues to £2.5bn. Dyson is proposing to spend £1 bn on the battery and £1bn on designing and making the car and expects to make a profit.