Dyson reveals plans for $260M expansion to electric car test center
It'll convert a former WWII airfield into a 10-mile test track.
Dyson intends to add a test track its Wiltshire center, at a former WWII airfield.
Dyson hopes to expand its testing center as part of a £2 billion ($2.6 billion) plan to build electric cars.
The company, which is best known for its vacuum cleaners and hand driers, will invest a total of £200 million ($260 million) in its new technology center at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire, western England, it revealed in a statement Thursday.
Dyson has already renovated two of the hangars at the airfield, which was built in 1938, at a cost £84 million. The expansion will add a 10-mile test track to the site.
The company plans to launch its electric car in 2021.
The company hope to build a 10-mile test track in western England.
The testing track proposals include a dynamic handling track, a large asphalt covered area for testing vehicle manoeuvrability, an off road route with varied terrain, and routes for testing speed, cornering and performance on differing gradients.
"We are now firmly focused on the next stage of our automotive project strengthening our credentials as a global research and development organisation," said Jim Rowan, Dyson's CEO, in a statement.
Earlier this year, James Dyson -- the British inventor who founded the company -- said that its first electric car won't be cheap and won't be a sports car, which could put it in direct competition with Tesla's Model S and Model X.