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 redeployed elsewhere since there were ‘sufficient vacancies to absorb most of them into [the] Home business’.
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 originally been destined for the electric car, but could be adapted for use in other products.
Charles Butler, motoring expert at Carwow, said: ‘It’s a shame that Dyson is pulling out of electric car development as there was a lot of hype around it, particularly as a British product.
‘Dyson are known for approaching design challenges differently so this had the potential to shake up the industry and offer some true innovation.
‘This shows just how tough it is to build good cars at an affordable price. The market for electric is hotting up and clearly Dyson didn’t think it was fit for the fight.’
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