After announcing the project in September 2017, Dyson (yes, the one behind the vacuums) has decided to place its electric car factory in Singapore.
Founder James Dyson is an outspoken supporter of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the United Nations, making the choice seem particularly political to some.
Dyson is also moving its corporate headquarters to Singapore from Malmesbury, Wiltshire. The only changes will be the transfer of two senior executives and a change in the company’s registration. No other jobs will be removed in the UK.
Nevertheless, CEO Jim Rowan told the BBC that the move was not politically motivated or a response to taxation in the UK but rather “to make us future-proof for where we see the biggest opportunities… Most successful companies these days are global.”
In the initial announcement of the electric car projects, Dyson said 400 engineers and other workers were engaged in the development of the electric car in Wiltshire, in the UK. One of the key factors in the decision to build the cars in Singapore was the availability of engineering workers, as well as the regional supply chain and available target markets.
Only 2 to 3 percent of Dyson’s supply chain is in Europe, Rowan said.
As of October 2018 Dyson said that it would commit ÂŁ2 billion ($2.6 billion) in total to the electric car project, including ÂŁ200 million ($2.6 million) earmarked to be spent within the UK on research and development and a test track.
The target year for the car’s launch is 2021.
Dyson already has 1,100 employees in Singapore and does not currently manufacture any products in the UK.