is explained in a new book,
titled Invention: A Life by James Dyson to be published by Simon & Schuster, after spending a small fortune on their electronic car, codenamed N526, the car was successful, other circumstances led to its tragic cancellation, image credit Dyson,
Fast Company has more details:
We worked
with virtual reality to imagine and show interiors and to look at our car in
comparison with other vehicles. I aimed for an entirely flat floor. I wanted to
have the same adjustable and ergonomic front seat also in row two, the rear
seats.
While you
can’t make electric cars for a reasonable price, existing car companies were
willing to make them because they help achieve specified exhaust emissions
across their product range. So, if they take a loss on electric cars, they make
a profit on polluting cars while appearing virtuous. Their cars would undercut
the price of our car by a significant margin. By 2019, it was clear that it
would be hard for us to compete at our elevated price and risky for us to
proceed.
Because of
this shifting commercial sand, we made the decision to pull out of production
at the last minute. N526 was a brilliant car. Very efficient motors. Very
aerodynamic. Wonderful to drive and be driven in. We just couldn’t ever have
made money from it, and for all our enthusiasm, we weren’t prepared to risk the
rest of Dyson.
and the cost written off? $700 million! what a massive decision to have to make.
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