Dyson is working to produce its cars with solid state battery technology. This advanced battery chemistry, which uses higher energy density cells that are quicker to charge and store more energy than current liquid cells, is predicted to make it to market in time for the brand’s second car, possibly at the start of the next decade.
This would place Dyson at the front of the race to bring solid state batteries to market. Of the existing car makers, Toyota has been most vocal about its plans to introduce the technology in the coming decade. A BMW spokesman recently claimed that the company is also making good progress, while Porsche has hinted that solid state EVs are in its product plans.
Dyson’s solid state development appeared to have taken a hit when its battery expert, Ann Marie Sastry, left the company in late 2017. Dyson told Autocar at the time that it doesn’t “get into specifics on personnel matters” when questioned on the matter.
The brand is also investing in artificial intelligence along with a long list of other cutting-edge digital technologies, including robotics and machine learning. Although not officially linked to its car programme, this suggests Dyson will be well placed to integrate autonomous technology that can ‘learn’ into its earliest vehicles.
Dyson’s first EV
The first car’s development is being funded by £2.5 billion in investment from Dyson and the project has received support from the British Government.
Dyson is keeping details such as performance and range secret, but the first model won’t be a mass-market car like the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf; instead, it will be aimed at a more tech-oriented market. Dyson’s existing household goods tend to be more expensive than the competition, suggesting that the EV’s market position will be firmly in the premium segment, similar to that of Tesla.
Insight: why is Dyson launching an electric car?
There’s no definitive word yet on where the car will be built, but Sir James revealed to Reuters last year: “Wherever we make the battery, we’ll make the car; that’s logical. So we want to be near our suppliers; we want to be in a place that welcomes us and is friendly to us, and where it is logistically most sensible. And we see a very large market for this car in the Far East.”
Dyson has a large market presence in the Far East, so Chinese production isn’t an unrealistic prediction, although the car is being developed in the UK.
In the announcement of the EV plan, Sir James took swipes at the Governments’ push for diesels and the Dieselgate emissions scandal. “Governments around the world have encouraged the adoption of oxymoronically designated ‘clean diesel’ engines through subsidies and grants,” he said. “Major auto manufacturers have circumvented and duped clean air regulations. As a result, developed and developing cities are full of smog-belching cars, lorries and buses. It is a problem that others are ignoring.”
He revealed that a major aim is to reduce air pollution from cars “at the source”, saying: “I committed the company to develop new battery technologies. I believed that electrically powered vehicles would solve the vehicle pollution problem. Dyson carried on innovating. At this moment, we finally have the opportunity to bring all our technologies together into a single product.