Sir James Dyson has announced plans to expand his Wiltshire research facility for the testing of his electric cars.
The investment has come one year after Dyson’s plans to manufacture an electric car and rival Elon Musk’s Tesla.
The British technology company will invest about £200 million at Hullavington, the testing facility on a former second world war airfield.
Jim Rowan, the chief executive of Dyson, predicted that Hullavington will become a “world-class vehicle testing campus”.
“We are now firmly focused on the next stage of our automotive project strengthening our credentials as a global research and development organisation,” he said.
The expansion plans for the Hullavington site includes planning applications for over 10 miles of vehicle-testing tracks with high-speed sections, hills and off-road routes.
The plans for the electric car are so far unclear and there has not yet been a prototype released.
However, talking to GQ magazine earlier this month, it is expected to be aimed at the upper end of the market, will have “some” driverless features and may not even look like a conventional vehicle.
“What we’re doing is quite radical,” he said.
Before the referendum, Dyson was a strong Brexiteer.
“Brexit can supercharge British technology and refocus minds on global trade if only we grab the opportunity with both hands – the government must embrace it and support British businesses,” he told the Guardian.
This is contrary to several major industrial companies and carmakers, including Airbus (EPA: AIR), BMW (ETR: BMW) and Jaguar Land Rover. They have said that a hard Brexit would lead to a reassessment of jobs and investments in the UK.
The tech group made its 100 millionth machine last year as well as posting a 40 percent rise in turnover to £3.5 billion. Profits for the group jumped by a third to a record £801 million.
Dyson has over 12,000 staff, including 4,500 engineers and scientists worldwide.
