Dyson’s fury at Honda over electric car snub
Billionaire claims giant rejected his bid to build new model in UK plant
SIR JAMES DYSON has accused Honda of scuppering a deal that could have led to him building his new electric car in Britain.
In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, the billionaire entrepreneur claims he tried to negotiate a deal with Honda to use part of its factory in Swindon, Wiltshire – but he says the Japanese car giant refused.
The 72-year-old’s eponymous company, Dyson, also failed in an attempt to expand into Government-owned land in Wiltshire, sources said and instead revealed plans in October to manufacture its electric vehicles in Singapore rather than the UK.
The move led to a backlash against Sir James, who is an outspoken supporter of Brexit.
Honda subsequently announced the closure of its Swindon factory with the loss of 3,500 jobs.
In a letter to the company’s local MP in Wiltshire, Sir James – who is known across the world for his pioneering vacuum cleaners and hand dryers – describes the situation as a ‘crying shame from all aspects’.
Honda last night waded into the row, dismissing Sir James’s claims as ‘factually inaccurate’.
Sir James’s letter to James Gray MP, dated March 12, states: ‘The most annoying thing is that 12 months ago we went to see Honda at Swindon.
‘We knew that they were only using one of their assembly buildings, [and we asked] if we could rent the unused one. They refused.
‘Also a great shame that we have spent the past 12 months further expanding the number of automotive engineers at Hullavington as well as building, at huge expense, test facilities and a prototyping factory. If only...’
Honda, which only recently became aware of the correspondence, hit back. It told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We are aware of a letter between Dyson and James Gray MP, the contents of which are factually incorrect.’
There is no certainty that Dyson would have chosen to make its new electric car – due for launch in 2021 – in the UK had its negotiations with Honda or the Government advanced. But an industry source said Britain – and Wiltshire, in particular – was an ‘obvious choice’ for the company.
The revelations come at a critical stage for Britain’s car manufacturing industry, which has suffered a series of major setbacks recently.
Last week, Ford announced 12,000 job cuts in Europe, with 3,100 of these in Britain. It has already announced the closure of its engine factory in Bridgend.
Meanwhile, the French owners of Vauxhall said it would only build its new Astra in the UK if Ministers secured a good Brexit deal. Honda’s decision to manufacture electric cars in China and Japan – where the market is seen as further advanced and with much more demand – is being seen as a significant blow for Britain. The decision by Dyson to manufacture in Singapore, which was followed by a move to relocate its global headquarters to the same place, caused a political storm. Dyson, founded by Sir James in 1978, has tripled its UK workforce in the past five years to 4,800, thanks in part to the development of a new engineering institute on a 750-acre airfield in Hullavington, Wiltshire, which was bought from the Ministry of Defence in 2017.
When talks to invest in Honda’s Swindon factory broke down, Dyson tried to negotiate with the Government – including Business Secretary Greg Clark – to buy and develop MoD barracks adjacent to its Hullavington airfield, sources told The Mail on Sunday.
However, it is understood that a frustrated Dyson was told the MoD could not vacate the barracks quickly enough.
Gray, the Tory MP for North Wiltshire, this month called on the Government to try to persuade Dyson to shift production of its car to Swindon. The MP declined to comment on the letter when questioned about it by The Mail On Sunday.
Responding in Parliament, Clark praised Dyson as ‘one of our most brilliant inventors and entrepreneurs’. He added: ‘I share [your] ambition for us to be able to attract Dyson to locate manufacturing facilities in the United Kingdom. We have the research, the brains, the skilled workforce and the facilities.’
A spokesman for Dyson said: ‘We can confirm that there was private correspondence between Dyson and the local Member of Parliament, however we cannot comment beyond that.’
In 2018, Dyson chief executive Jim Rowan had explained the company had chosen Singapore because of its proximity to ‘high-growth markets’ in Asia.
A spokesman for the Department for Business declined to comment.
But sources close to the talks said Dyson had previously given the MoD the impression that the company’s interest in the land in Wiltshire was for testing self-driving cars – not as a production facility.
It is understood that the negotiations between Dyson – which has not made any of its products in the UK since 2003 – and the Government are ongoing and that Ministers would still welcome an expansion of its UK activities.
We knew Honda were only using one of their assembly buildings, we asked if we could rent the other. They refused Sir James Dyson