High-Tech Vacuum Designer Dyson Possibly Developing An Electric Car

While Dyson is known around the globe for its home products like vacuum cleaners and fans, it seems the British company is looking to step out of its niche and into the exploding electric vehicle market. But Dyson may be well-beyond the early planning stages, as it's receiving a hefty investment from the UK government to pursue its research and development.

British newspaper The Guardian has reported that the nation's National Infrastructure Delivery Plan, which is published on the government's website, makes mention of a £174 million ($245 million) investment in Dyson. Company representatives have declined to comment on the report, and the government document has since been edited to remove the mention of Dyson's electric car involvement, and instead just disclose a smaller investment in general battery technology.

The Guardian's report includes the full portion of what was edited from document, which originally read as follows:

"The government is funding Dyson to develop a new battery electric vehicle at their headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. This will secure £174m of investment in the area, creating over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering."

As recently as last year Dyson CEO Max Conze was asked about the possibility of an electric car from the company, to which he simply replied that they are "ruling nothing out." The fact that Dyson's most well-known products are often powered by small, lightweight electric motors means they could easily be focusing their expertise on something larger.

2015 also saw Dyson acquire Sakti3, a start-up working on long-life batteries, for $15 million. Combining their electric motors with their own in-house batteries could lead to Dyson becoming one of Tesla's biggest rivals.

SOURCE The Guardian