Dyson Scraps Its Electric Car, Ends Automotive Project

Back in September 2017, Dyson surprised everyone by announcing its intention to enter the electric vehicle space. Things seemed to be moving along swimmingly on that front, with the company providing updates on the development of that car at various points, but unfortunately, today we've hit the end of the road. Dyson announced today that it has scrapped plans for its electric vehicle and the end to its automotive project overall.

Chief engineer and company founder James Dyson announced the news in an update published to Dyson's website. Dyson says that the decision to can the project came after the realization that the company could not make its electric vehicle commercially viable. Though Dyson attempted to find a buyer, those efforts proved unsuccessful, leading the closure of the project as a whole.

"This is not a product failure, or a failure of the team, for whom this news will be hard to hear and digest," Dyson wrote today. "Their achievements have been immense – given the enormity and complexity of the project. We are working to quickly find alternative roles within Dyson for as many of the team as possible and we have sufficient vacancies to absorb most of the people into our Home business."

Dyson went on to note that those who can't or don't wish to find a new position within the company will be supported "fairly and with the respect deserved." From here, Dyson says that it will continue investing into new technologies and expanding in regions like Malmesbury, Hullavington, and Singapore.

It'll also continue working on the development of solid state batteries, along with continuing to research things like sensors, vision systems, robotics, machine learning, and AI. So, while it's the end of one project, the continuing research and development into solid state batteries is definitely encouraging. Hopefully that's a field where Dyson's efforts begin to bear more fruit.