Dyson Electric Auto Plant Announced For Singapore

Dyson is a name that is associated with vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans, and now fancy hair styling devices. In the future, the Dyson name will also be associated with electric cars. Dyson has announced that it will build its new electric car in Singapore, and it is looking to break ground on the new factory later this year.

Dyson is currently planning for its first production car to leave that factory in 2021. The decision to place the factory in Singapore was made due to engineering talent availability, regional supply chains, and the proximity of Singapore to key target markets according to Dyson. The company says that cost was not part of the decision.

Not factoring in cost is interesting considering that Singapore is one of the most expensive places in the world to do business and space for manufacturing operations is at a premium. Dyson previously stated that the budget for the EV project was £2bn and that £200m of that amount was going to be spent in the UK on research and development, as well as test track facilities.

Dyson is a UK company and doesn't manufacture any of its current products in its home country. Dyson currently boasts 1,100 employees in Singapore, 1,300 in Malaysia, 1,000 in China, and 800 workers in the Philippines. Opening a manufacturing plant in Singapore isn't out of the ordinary for the company.

While we have known for over a year that Dyson plans to launch an electric car, there are still no hard facts about the vehicle available. There is no indication of what batteries the car will use; Dyson has told employees that the company began to develop new battery tech "some years ago."

SOURCE: BBC