Dyson expands base for electric car project
Billionaire owner Sir James seeks planning permission for 10-mile circuit to trial e-vehicles
SIR JAMES DYSON is gearing up his £2bn attempt to build an electric car with a huge investment in new test facilities in the UK.
The billionaire entrepreneur is applying for planning permission to build a series of test tracks at the Second World War airbase in Wiltshire that his company acquired last year.
Dyson has already created a technology centre at Hullavington airfield with the restoration and repurposing of two giant aircraft hangars.
Now Sir James wants to build 10 miles of tracks on the 520-acre site, which will be used to examine cars’ performance when tackling corners, high speeds and inclines, as well as their ability to handle off-road driving.
The application also include plans to create 480,000 sq ft (45,000 sq m) of buildings capable of accommodating 2,000 people, work that will take Dyson’s spending on the site to more than £200m so far.
Last September Sir James confirmed long-rumoured plans his company – which has earned him a £9.5bn fortune – had been working on an electric car for three years. The admission came because Dyson needed to start discussions with governments about testing.
He has refused to give details of what the vehicle might look like, saying only that the design will be “radical”, feature basic self-driving technology and be aimed at upmarket buyers. Dyson has not partnered with existing car manufacturers, preferring to go it alone and develop the advanced electric motors and batteries it created for its vacuum cleaners and driers for use in cars.
There has been speculation that Dyson – which bought US battery research business Sakti3 in 2015 – has made a breakthrough in battery technology that will give it an edge over other automotive manufacturers.
Sir James has set a tough timeline for the car, aiming to have it ready by 2021. About 400 people are working on the car and Dyson is recruiting a further 300 into automotive roles. Sir James has predicted that as work on the project accelerates, Dyson’s UK workforce of 4,800 could almost double.
During the war Allied pilots used Hullavington as a base from where they could develop an understanding of how to fly their aircraft to the limit, making them more effective in combat.
Sir James said he hoped to repeat such efforts at the site. “Hullavington is filled with the spirit of engineering, innovation and risk-taking,” he said. “These are the ideals that drove those who worked on the airfield before us, and they will help propel us forward as we develop our electric vehicle.”
Jim Rowan, chief executive, said Hullavington will “quickly become a worldclass vehicle-testing campus, creating high-skilled jobs for Britain as our automotive project strengthens our credentials as a global R&D organisation”.
If Sir James can develop a workable vehicle, Britain is unlikely to see production of it here. His company carries out manufacturing in the low-cost Far East, with the engineering and development work focused on the UK.