Dyson Announces New Electric Car Plant In Singapore

The UK company Dyson, best known for its large range of vacuum cleaners, has announced that it will build its new electric car plant in Singapore.

The plans are to start work on the plant later this year, with the completion of the first car expected to roll off the production line at some point in 2021.

Engineering Talent

Dyson’s official reasons for this is due to the wide availability of engineering talent which is on offer in Singapore, combined with favourable regional supply chains, along with its geographical proximity to key markets.

Cost is not said to be a consideration, and this would certainly seem true, as Singapore is well known for being one of the most expensive countries in the world to do business in, and manufacturing space throughout the country is in short supply, boosting prices.

Ultimately, Dyson has suggested that the entire project will cost £2 billion, which includes a £200 million pot for research and development being spent exclusively in the UK.

UK Growth

Dyson has been praised within the UK over recent years for tripling their British workforce to 4,800 within five years. So there is some disappointment that this new plant will not be based in Wilshire, as their UK Office is.

Dyson currently do not manufacture any products in the UK, so the announcement of Singapore as the location is no real deviation from this trend.

As well as having almost 5000 employees in the UK, the firm currently has just over 1000 staff members already based in Singapore, 1,300 in Malaysia, 1,000 in China and approximately 8,000 in the Philippines.

Battery Edge?

One of the best-kept secrets about Dyson’s new electric cars is the specific type of battery being used. The firm recently scrapped a project for an American Solid State Battery, designed and developed by Sakti3, losing £46 million in the process.

James Dyson, the company’s founder, has been an extremely prominent advocate for Britain leaving the EU, and has been a supporter of Brexit since the start of the campaign.

Despite this, many other manufacturing firms, including BMW, Airbus, and Jaguar Land Rover, all of whom manufacture products in the UK, have suggested the Brexit will bring harm to their companies, as well as the country as a whole and its citizens.

However, Mr. Dyson has denied allegations that choosing Singapore as a base for this new investment has anything to do with Brexit.

Stock Impact

Equally, the news has had little impact on the share prices of Dyson Group, which have remained consistent both when this news was released and in the aftermath, suggesting that share holders do not see this investment as a move against Dyson’s involvement in the UK.

Dyson are privately listed, but news of another entrant into the electric car market may impact the likes of Tesla, and to much less a degree Aplhabet.