Dyson Rumored to Be Developing Electric Car Funded by British Government This is one of many instances of the company branching out beyond vacuum cleaners.
By Tom Brant
This story originally appeared on PCMag
Dyson, best known for making vacuum cleaners, will reportedly receive funding from the British government to develop an electric car. A government document published Monday suggests that Dyson will get 174 million pounds ($246 million) to work on a battery-powered vehicle, The Guardian reports.
"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," according to the U.K.'s National Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
Dyson did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson told The Guardian that "we never comment on products that are in development."
A battery-powered electric car would also dovetail with the company's research into improving battery technology. It invested $15 million in battery tech company Sakti3 and then purchased the company outright for $90 million last year, according to Geek.com. Many Dyson vacuum cleaners are battery powered. A Dyson-made electric car would not come as a complete surprise, since the company has branched out beyond vacuum cleaners in the past. Some of its other products include bladeless fans, LED lamps, and sink faucets with built-in hand dryers.
If the pricing of Dyson's other gadgets are any indication, you can expect its electric car to be very expensive if it ever goes on the market. One of the company's latest robotic vacuums, the Eye 360, retails for more than $1,200. So just as the vacuums aren't competing with entry-level Roombas, its rumored electric car will likely compete with Teslas rather than Priuses.
