The British vacuum-cleaner company has announced it has chosen Singapore as the location of its new electric car factory.
The company’s founder, James Dyson, is one of the loudest Brexit supporters from the business community, and continues to claim that the UK will thrive outside the European Union. However, the company he founded does not appear to share his confidence, and has chosen Singapore as the location of its new electric car manufacturing plant.
Over the last decade Dyson has shifted its manufacturing and assembly plants for its vacuums and hairdryers to Malaysia and the Philippines, and Singapore’s technology expertise and location near the production hubs in China made it a more attractive option than the UK for investment.
The company reportedly plans to invest £2bn in its electric car initiative, and hopes that its experience with electric engines and batteries in its existing line of products should give it an edge over traditional automotive manufacturers. Construction on the new plant will begin before the start of next year and will complete by 2020, with the first cars expected to be produced by 2021.
Dyson is the latest in a long line of Brexit supporters calling for others to back the chaos of the UK leaving the EU whilst moving their own investments elsewhere. Earlier this year, Somerset Capital Management (SCM), the city investment firm setup by Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, opened a new fund in Ireland to avoid the danger of a no-deal “hard Brexit”. Another Tory MP, John Redwood, also wrote a column for the Financial Times advising people to avoid risking their money by investing in Brexit Britain. Former Tory deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft issued similar guidance and recommended investors looking for a European base locate themselves in Malta after Brexit.
