Dyson’s electric car project has taken a major step forward with two significant announcements this week.
The company, who revolutionised vacuum cleaning with their bagless technology have been developing a new electric vehicle at a former RAF base in Wiltshire, but they made the surprise announcement that the car would actually be built in Singapore.
In a second announcement, Dyson have also revealed that former BMW and Infiniti boss Roland Krueger will lead the project.
Speaking to Autoexpress.co.uk, Dyson’s CEO, Jim Rowan said Krueger was the perfect man for the job.
“Roland is experienced globally,” Rowan said. “He views the car industry as a global landscape, and that’s difficult to come by; he’s not attached to a particular region. He has knowledge of China, which is a key EV market, and he’s a designer by background but also understands commercial aspects.
“He’s a great fit for us - not just in terms of knowledge but also his style. He’s a disruptor. And based on his leadership, and the head of steam that we’ve already built up, we expect to go in and disrupt the car industry like we’ve done in other areas.”
But it’s Dyson’s decision to take the build of the vehicle outside of the UK which has attracted many headlines. The company’s founder Sir James Dyson is famously pro-Brexit and the move to foreign soil will be a kick in the teeth for the British motoring industry.
In a letter to Dyson’s 400 development staff, Jim Rowan said: “Singapore offers access to high-growth markets, as well as an extensive supply chain and a highly- skilled workforce. It has a comparatively high cost base, but also a strong bias towards developing and using advanced technologies.
“It is therefore the right place to make high-quality, technology-loaded machines, and the right place to make our electric vehicle.”