We can’t make sense of it, really.
Dyson, the UK maker of vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, and hair dryers have announced that their forthcoming electric vehicle will get a decidedly-odd base of manufacturing, in Singapore. The announcement was made to select UK news sources earlier this week, where they also explained the reasoning behind choosing the city state to centre their EV manufacturing facilities.
The new factory will begin construction soon, having already received approval from the Singaporean government, and will be completed by 2020. Jim Rowan, Dyson’s CEO, said that the “purpose-built, highly-advanced” production facility will begin construction in December.
“Singapore [additionally] offers access to high-growth markets, as well as an extensive supply chain and a highly-skilled workforce. Singapore has a comparatively high cost-base, but also great technology expertise and focus. It is therefore the right place to make high-quality, technology-loaded machines, and the right place to make our electric vehicle.” — Jim Rowan, Chief Executive, Dyson
The plant in Singapore is part of Dyson’s slated £2.5-billion investment into its electric vehicle project, which will first birth a high-end, low-volume (and high-margin) electric family car, followed by two more affordable, high-volume, mass-market models later. Dyson claims that it is capable of innovating various bits and bobs that we’re used to in motorcars today to the degree that they’ll offer that uniquely-Dyson experience, though that remains to be seen at this point.
What’s interesting to us is that Dyson opted to set up a brand-new, ground-up facility in Singapore when the company already has existing manufacturing facilities in Malaysia (for their vacuums and fans and hand-dryers). The latter country also offers cheaper labour, similar logistical access, and a booming automotive industry already, meaning it’d be easier to source local talent (and at significantly lower cost than in Singapore).
Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see how Dyson gets on. While companies like Faraday Future make a habit of totally arsing everything up, Dyson appears to be keeping on-schedule and on-track to debuting their all-new first-ever electric car before the end of 2019 before market debut shortly afterwards. And considering the company’s penchant for innovation, we’ve little doubt that if nothing else, the Dyson EV will be undeniably cool.
For the best deals on a new car, check out our Showroom.
