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The British manufacturer of home appliances Dyson wants to build electric cars in Singapore. Paradoxically, the company chose a car-free city for this project.
Manfred Rist, Singapore
According to Jim Rowan, head of Dyson, Singapore is probably a relatively expensive country. (Image: Damir Sagolj / Reuters)
For more than a year, we know that the British specialist in home appliances Dyson wants to embark on the electric car business. At present, the company has announced that it wanted to produce this from 2021: the choice was – rather surprisingly – left in Singapore.
Obviously contradictory
The choice of location is exceptional in that the traditional automotive industry of Southeast Asia is rooted in Thailand. International brands and reputable suppliers have been manufacturing cars since the 1980s, earning them the nickname "Eastern Strait" in the Chonburi and Rayong provinces, south of Bangkok. In addition, Singapore's domestic market, where prices are deliberately raised by taxes, has virtually disappeared by comparison.
Even more: at first glance, the plans hardly correspond to the declared objective, Turn Singapore into a "largely car-free city".
However, according to the company, the Singapore center, which allows for export to emerging markets, has been boosted by economic diversity and the high level of education of the workforce. Thanks to a clever promotion of localization, Singapore is by far the most important research and training site in the region. In addition, the electronics, chemistry and engineering industries are certainly among the pillars of the economy.
Know-how and incentives
Lee Hsien Loong, the city's prime minister, is delighted with the decision to locate in a Facebook post. He was particularly optimistic that British society apparently wants to cooperate closely with Singaporean technical colleges.
It is very likely that the Singapore Government and the Economic Development Board (EdB) have contributed to all kinds of incentives, such as tax exemptions and grants for choosing the place of implementation. This could include plans to help electric-powered cars from 2021 in the city with breakthrough tax incentives.
Dyson already has a technology center and an electric motor manufacturing plant in Singapore, employing 1,100 people in that country. The planned major investment, which is expected to be more than $ 2 billion, will include a battery plant and a vehicle production line.
On closer inspection, "car-free city" cars and electric cars do not really harmonize so badly: with one of the means, namely mainly a less private traffic ("car company" ) and cars without emissions. As far as battery-powered cars are concerned, the promotion of hybrid models has already taken steps in this direction. In addition, the local government is not primarily interested in vehicles per se, but rather in modern propulsion technologies. In this context, solid battery technology is at the forefront. Such batteries should be able to store more energy than the lithium-ion battery cells used today.
Ideal experimental domain
Dyson boss Jim Rowan reportedly said Singapore was probably a relatively expensive country. But the technological know-how is good, which is suitable for the development and production of a high-tech product. Singapore has two other reasons: on the one hand, the degree of urbanization of the republic, which reaches only 35 km by 25, is high, which makes it an interesting field of experimentation. With regard to export projects, Singapore can take advantage of its former location, namely a central and efficient port.
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