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Dyson ends electric car project

Dyson was due to begin construction later this year on an EV manufacturing plant in Singapore. 


However, the company’s board has decided to end the electric car project before entering this capital-intensive phase.

In a message posted on the company’s website, company founder and CEO James Dyson praised the automotive team for developing a “fantastic” and “ingenious” car, but said “we simply cannot make it commercially viable”.

The company also went “through a serious process to find a buyer for the project which has, unfortunately, been unsuccessful so far”.

Startup electric car makers, including Tesla in the US and Nio in China, have burnt through billions of dollars attempting to make EVs mainstream.

On top of this, established automakers are now seriously entering the fray, with the just-launched Volkswagen ID.3 and Porsche Taycan attacking both the affordable and premium ends of the market.

Patents published earlier this year showed Dyson was planning on making a large electric crossover, around five metres long, but with a low roof and narrow tyres.

The EV was set to go on sale from 2021 with Asia being its initial target market.

Dyson says it will continue with its £2.5 billion ($4.6 billion) investment into new technology. Some EV technologies, such as solid-state batteries, can be applied to the company’s core business.

Reports suggest other developments, such as artificial intelligence, sensing systems and robotics, may be licensed out to automotive suppliers and manufacturers.

Although production of the Dyson EV was to take place in Singapore, where the company intends to setup its new headquarters, car development was being undertaken in the UK with a team of around 500 engineers, some hired from Aston Martin and Tesla.

The company claims it will attempt to offer jobs within company to as many of the automotive team as possible, and support "fairly” those who have to or choose to leave.

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