British technology company Dyson is pulling the plug on the development of an electric vehicle. According to Dyson, the vehicle is not commercially viable. The company has also failed to find a buyer for technology it has developed so far.
Dyson is best known for manufacturing high-tech hoovers. The company announced in an internal email to staff in September 2017 that it would start producing electric cars. By betting on such vehicles, the company wants to help combat pollution from cars. James Dyson, CEO of Dyson, pointed out that the company had developed a filter for diesel vehicles 20 years earlier. The company announced it would invest €2.85 billion in the development.
No details known
Concrete details about the vehicle Dyson was working on were not disclosed. However, it was clear that the company wanted to produce several variants of its electric vehicle, with the first model due to roll off the production line in 2021. Dyson announced in October 2018 that it would open a factory in Singapore for this purpose.
The British company announced it wanted to benefit from experience gained from developing other products. These include electric motors and energy storage systems, as well as fans, heating fans, air purification systems, cordless hairdryers and hoovers.
'Not commercially viable'
So now Dyson is pulling the plug on its plans for an electric car. "The Dyson Automotive team has developed a great car; they have been ingenious in their approach while staying true to our philosophies. Despite our full commitment to this in the development process, we simply failed to make this commercially viable. We have gone through a serious process to find a buyer for the project, which unfortunately has not succeeded so far. I therefore want you to hear from me that the Dyson board of directors has therefore taken the difficult decision to close our automotive project," James Dyson wrote in a statement on the company website.
The company stresses that the decision is not the result of a wrong product or team error. Dyson stresses that they have produced good results, especially given the size and complexity of the project. The company is trying to find a new challenge for the staff of the Dyson Automotive team within its own organisation.
Solid-state batteries
Dyson has long been committed to developing solid-state batteries. These batteries use solid-state electrolyte, as opposed to the liquid electrolyte that lithium-ion batteries use. Solid-state batteries are of interest to electric vehicles, among others, as they can offer longer range and faster charging.
Dyson has been investing in the development of such technology for several years. In 2015, for instance, the company acquired Sakti3, a US company focused on developing solid-state batteries. In 2016, James Dyson announced plans to invest a billion dollars in battery development and manufacturing over a five-year period.
In its statement, Dyson says it remains committed to manufacturing solid-state batteries and other fundamental technologies, including sensors, vision systems, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The 2.85 billion euros the company planned to invest in the development of an electric vehicle will still be invested in Dyson.
Dyson's statement can be found here.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
