Dyson might be building electric car, joining Apple and Google in looking to make vehicles of the future
The company invested in a big battery firm earlier this year – and could be about to putting its power bricks into cars, says its boss
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Dyson might be working on a car, and won’t rule out other major new designs, according to its boss.
The company is “ruling nothing out” and might look to put its technology into a range of different uses, big and small, CEO Max Conze has said.
Dyson, most famous for its vacuum cleaners, might seem a strange fit for a car. But an increasing number of companies – including Google and Apple – are looking at making cars, as people move towards electric-powered and automatically-driving vehicles.
The technology companies hope that they turn their computers into cars faster than the car makers can turn start making driving technology.
Dyson made reference to Apple, which has been widely rumoured to be working on the technology.
Asked whether Dyson might join those companies – or Tesla, which has already built a business on its long-lasting car batteries – its boss said that it could already be exploring the possibility.
“We are ruling nothing out,” Conze said. “Like our friends in Cupertino we are also unhealthily obsessive when it comes to taking apart our products to make them better.”
Earlier this year, Dyson bought part of a battery company called Sakti3, which hopes to double the life of batteries of the future. Dyson says that it plans to use those in its hand-held vacuums – but didn’t rule out putting them into electric cars, too.
“But Sakti3 has the best remit to deliver breakthrough technology into other industries though I could not comment on what they are,” Conze said. “If you do what we do and invent disruptive technologies and have thousands of engineers working on these projects for as long as 15 years, then you want to keep that work in the lab” until it’s ready.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments