Dyson made the announcement on the company’s Twitter account , saying “We know this is a crowded market,” as James Dyson tweeted the company would spend $2.7 billion on the car and battery technology and predicted the automotive business would “quickly” outgrow the rest of the company. Half will be spent on the battery, and half on design and manufacturing.
Competition
Dyson will be in good company and poses a threat to Silicon Valley giant, Tesla, founded by billionaire Elon Musk. Tesla has already shaken up the older, more traditional automakers. However, there has been a great deal of speculation for months over Dyson entering the electric car business.
Mini, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin have all revealed they are preparing to enter the electric vehicle market. And last year, Aston Martin’s product development director Ian Minards — responsible for creating many of James Bond’s favorite cars – was recruited by Dyson. Then, last month Dyson snagged Aston Martin’s long-serving director of purchasing, David Wyer.
Dyson has been busy behind the scenes
The British government, which says all motor vehicles must have an electric element by 2040 has also funded Dyson to the tune of £174 million to develop a new battery electric vehicle at its headquarters. The investment will create over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering.
Forbes is reporting today that Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a report last year it was a credible guess that Dyson was going into the EV sector. Then, earlier this year, Dyson bought up the remaining stakes in Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Sakti3, a solid-state battery company.
In 2015, Dyson paid $15 million for an undisclosed stake in the company, and a few months ago, Dyson spent another $90 million to buy the University of Michigan spinoff. “At the time, founder Sir James Dyson suggested the technology would be used for home appliances and not vehicle applications. However, since that acquisition, the company has announced plans to invest $1.4 billion in battery technology over the next five years,” Jonas said then.
“Dyson claims that Sakti3’s solid-state technology is potentially smaller, safer, more reliable and longer-lasting than the most advanced lithium-ion batteries on the market today,” Jonas said.
A spokesman for Dyson would not discuss any emerging technologies or specific plans for the company moving forward. He did say “We plan to recruit an extra 3,000 engineers and scientists by 2020 and are working with more than 40 universities globally.”
