Could Car Industry Be Undone By A Vacuum Cleaner Maker?

Could Car Industry Be Undone By A Vacuum Cleaner Maker?

“Dyson is being funded by the British government to develop an electric car”

CEOs of the big car manufacturers probably have nightmares about waking up to find Google, Apple, Tesla, or maybe even the Chinese have come up with the electric car for the masses which will spell doom for their business.

Even in their most vulnerable moments though did they think this blind-siding torpedo would come from a vacuum cleaner maker.

According to investment bank Morgan Stanley, quoting a report in Britain’s Guardian newspaper, Dyson the maker of high-priced and high tech domestic appliances and public space hand-dryers, is being funded by the British government to develop an electric car.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a report this is a credible possibility because Dyson uses the types of motors found in electric cars. Not only that, Dyson recently spent $90 million to buy University of Michigan spinoff Sakti3.

“At the time, founder Sir James Dyson suggested the technology would be used for home appliances and not vehicle applications. However, since that acquisition, the company has announced plans to invest one billion pounds ($1.4 billion) in battery technology over the next five years,” Jonas said.

“Dyson claims that Sakti3’s solid state technology is potentially smaller, safer, more reliable and longer-lasting than the most advanced lithium-ion batteries on the market today,” Jonas said.

Dyson has not commented on the reports.

Disruptor
Jonas has been writing for more than a year about the potential for new entrants disrupting the traditional automotive industry.

“When using the term “non-traditional players” we were mostly referring to Silicon Valley firms like Alphabet, Apple, etc. Dyson, whose core business is appliances, was certainly not at the top of our list of companies vying to get into the car business,” he said.

Jonas wondered if there might be other unlikely companies about to strike at the traditional auto business.

“The potential concern for incumbent players is that true expertise in battery technology, electric motors, etc, may lie with companies like Dyson, LG (of Korea) and not the traditional suppliers/manufacturers which have been focussed on mastering the most dominant powertrain over the last 100 years,” Jonas said.