Government Documents Show Dyson Is Working On Electric Car
Dyson using government funding to work on electric battery technology at Wiltshire headquarters
Government documents have revealed that Dyson, best known for its vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and fans, is working on electric car technology at its factory in Wiltshire.
“The government is funding Dyson to develop a new battery electric vehicle at their headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire,” the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan said. “This will secure £174m of investment in the area, creating over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering.”
The government has since updated the document reportedly to remove references to the Dyson car, according to the Financial Times and Dyson has not yet responded to TechWeekEurope’s request for comment.
Charging up
The revelation comes after Dyson, set up by Sir James Dyson (pictured left) revealed earlier this week that it would be investing £1bn on developing electric batteries over the next five years as it looks to expand and grow its product sales across the world.
The company has invested $15m in Satki3, a firm which says its technology could double battery capacity for products including smartphones and electric cars.
Britain is quickly proving to be one of the hotbeds of innovation when it comes to developing electric cars. Back in January, it was announced that Nottingham, Bristol, Milton Keynes and London will share a £40m government fund to help promote the rollout of electric cars across the UK and support the introduction of environmentally-friendly cars.
London is particular is aiming to sell 70,000 ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) by 2020 and almost quarter of a million by 2025.
The Government also hopes that the fund will lead to the creation and support of highly-skilled jobs in the automotive industry by encouraging the sale of thousands of extra plug-in cars, many of which will be built and tested in the UK.
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