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.