Expect a "radical" new electric car from Dyson, the renowned vacuum cleaner and fan company, by 2020, the company says.
Four-hundred Dyson employees have been working on the project for two years already at the corporate headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, the statement added.
Still, no prototype has been assembled and aspirations for mass-market production seem far-fetched, since a factory site has yet to be chosen.
"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," CEO Sir James told the staff in a specially addressed email. It went on to say that the cost of the car, range or top speed have yet to be determined (or is being kept secret), though the firm would allocate 1 billion pounds to develop the car and another billion to make the car's battery.
The car's motor has been designed already, but the rest of the vehicle needs work, he said.
It is unclear whether Dyson's car would compete directly with any of Tesla's existing EV models, but Model 3 customer deliveries are currently expected to start in late October this year, and production of the special battery will begin in November.
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The American company's vehicles have topped efficiency and speed tests against market leaders in performance. A Tesla Model X beat a Lamborghini Aventador SV in a quarter-mile drag race in August, setting a world record for the fastest production SUV.
Tesla has been pitching its Model X P100D as the fastest SUV, saying that Model X P100D with Ludicrous mode accelerates to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. The Model S P100D with Ludicrous mode, on the other hand, is the third-fastest accelerating production car ever produced, with a 0-60 mph time of 2.5 seconds, behind LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder, according to Tesla.
Dyson's entrance into the EV playing field has led many to query in jest whether the vehicle will suck.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
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Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More
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