Failed project: Dyson’s electric car – brilliant, but far too expensive

James Dyson wanted to bring Britain back to the top of the auto industry. The project was announced confidently, but was then buried, although a promising model was developed. Unfortunately too expensive. Unlike the hairdryer for 350 euros, nobody would have paid the enormous Dyson surcharge.

The European premium brands, mass manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, General Motors or Volkswagen must have been a stone’s heart when James Dyson officially announced the end of the highly regarded Dyson EV project last October.


The design of the electric car was already fixed inside and out, and the developers brought together worldwide were also well advanced in terms of drive. Ultimately, company founder James Dyson saw the serial implementation of the in-house electric vehicle within reach, but the costs could not be reflected in line with the market. According to James Dyson, the base electric car – a five-meter-long SUV with seven seats – would have cost at least 150,000 euros in its base. Too much to stand up to international competition.

Dyson is one of the global companies likely to benefit from the corona crisis. Products such as vacuum cleaners, air purifiers or hairdryers are at home within your own four walls, can be ordered online and at home most people have preferred to stay in the past few months because of the Corona Virus. No wonder the Dyson products have been and still are sold by travelers.

It remains to be seen whether this would have worked with the planned and widely developed electric car. At least James Dyson and his analysts gave the Dyson EV no chance at a market-driven price and stopped the project last fall. For a long time, it looked like the Dyson electric car would be the British billionaire’s next success story. The British car brands, which for decades have only been a shadow of their great history, should finally get another chapter of success. Dyson as the British hunter of Elon Musk and his Teslas. No wonder the dismay was greater than ever when the end of the vehicle project was announced overnight last October. Dyson had the idea for his own electric SUV in 2014.

Gigantic 24-inch wheel models

Industry experts, however, had long doubted that it would have been possible to launch a competitive car on the world market in just a few years without the necessary preparations, production and appropriate experts. Initially, 1.5 and later around 2.5 billion euros were available for this – probably too little. The development was also to be carried out without major involvement from large auto suppliers in England at the Hullavington / Wiltshire location, and later the electric SUV was to be produced in Singapore. There was no shortage of car experts, last but not least Ian Minards, senior engineer at Aston Martin for many years, and Ian Robertson.

We are sad to announce a proposal to end our automotive project. The Dyson automotive team has developed a fantastic electric car, but unfortunately it is not commercially viable.

Dyson

The design of the Dyson EV was based on various electric SUVs, which American companies in particular are to implement in the coming years. Not only the design ensured the self-confident appearance, but also the dimensions and a gigantic 24-inch wheelset. “The wheels are actually one of the most interesting aspects,” said James Dyson, “because of their size, they have less rolling resistance and are easier to drive against bumps and potholes – it’s exactly the opposite of a Mini.” The almost 3.30 meter long wheelbase made it possible to accommodate a battery pack in the car floor, which was to achieve ranges of more than 800 kilometers thanks to its 150 kWh capacity; despite a lush vehicle mass of 2.6 tons.

“Building on our years of experience with Dyson Digital Motor technology, we have developed a bespoke, integrated and highly efficient electric drive unit that includes a digital Dyson electric motor, a single-speed gearbox and a state-of-the-art inverter. These compact and lightweight units have been on the subframe at the front and rear of the car “, explains Dyson, who was also involved in the design of the vehicle. The high-performance battery in the underbody was designed as an elementary component of the body structure in order to optimize both the weight and the space for the occupants in the cabin and the required rigidity and the required The aluminum battery pack housing was so flexible that a large number of possible sizes and types of battery cell solutions could have been installed over the entire service life of the vehicle platform.


Pure look in the interior

The Dyson EV should present itself as puristic in the interior. “I hate the 1930s armchair look that car seats usually have, and I haven’t found a car seat that has the right lumbar support,” says Dyson, “we wanted a more elegant, structural seat with thoughtful posture support. That Auto has three rows of seats that can comfortably accommodate seven adults.” Like the Byton, the central control elements are located on the steering wheel and the most important information is projected onto a head-up display on the windscreen. A few prototypes still exist – these are on the Malmesbury campus in England, where developments in the shadow of the old military airport have long been secret. The future visions of the upcoming Dyson products are currently being implemented in the offices there. Assume that the day after tomorrow will go far more than the sucker. But the car project has finally died.

Author: Nabeel K
Email: nabeel@wheelsjoint.com



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