british technology firm dyson has announced that it is working on plans for an electric car, which will be launched by 2020. ‘we’ve started building an exceptional team that combines top dyson engineers with talented individuals from the automotive industry,’ said james dyson. ‘the team is already over 400 strong, and we are recruiting aggressively.’ the battery electric vehicle will rival future designs from tesla and faraday future, as well as other automotive companies who are currently working on electric concepts.

dyson electric car
drawings from 1990 showing a filter that could be fitted on a vehicle’s exhaust system to trap particles
image courtesy of dyson (portrait of james dyson courtesy of the james dyson foundation)

 

 

dyson, who significantly expanded its UK headquarters last year, says that it is committed to investing £2 billion ($2.7bn USD) on the project. ‘the project will grow quickly from here but at this stage we will not release any information,’ continued james dyson. ‘competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential.’

dyson electric car
dyson hopes to rival tesla’s vehicles such as the ‘model 3’
image courtesy of tesla

 

 

in an open letter to his staff, james dyson explained that the effects of air pollution were a major factor in his decision. ‘in london, nearly 9,500 people die early each year due to long-term exposure to air pollution according to a study carried out by researchers at king’s college london… it is our obligation to offer a solution to the world’s largest single environmental risk. I look forward to showing you all what I hope will be something quite unique and better, in due course!’

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