Dyson cans electric car project
Dyson has announced that it is cancelling its £2.5bn electric car project.
In a statement released today, company founder Sir James Dyson said the decision had been made as a result of the project not being ‘commercially viable’.
However, Sir James was quick to point out that most of the people losing their jobs as a result of the decision would be able to be redeployed elsewhere in the company since there were ‘sufficient vacancies’ to absorb most of the staff ‘into [the] Home business’.
We are sad to announce a proposal to end our automotive project. The Dyson automotive team has developed a fantastic electric car, but unfortunately it is not commercially viable. Read more here.
— Dyson (@Dyson) October 10, 2019
The company did admit some redundancies could be possible, stating that “for those who cannot, or do not wish to, find alternative roles, we will support them fairly and with the respect deserved”.
Back in 2018, Dyson revealed that a car would be built at a new plant in Singapore, and it was originally believed to have been slated for production in 2021. Designs and patents of the vehicle had even been released, showcasing the outline of the new model.
The first vehicles are believed to have been tested already. However, since the firm has been ‘through a process to find a serious buyer which has, unfortunately, been unsuccessful’, it has taken the decision to axe the project.
The £2.5bn that would have been spent on creating the new electric car will instead be allocated to other projects within the business.
Sir James said that the company – best known for products such as vacuum cleaners and hairdryers – would instead be focusing its efforts on developing solid-state battery technology which had initially been destined for use in the electric car, but could be adapted for use in other products.
