Photo: Dyson
A few decades ago, things were much simpler: if you wanted to have anything to do with the automotive industry, you had to know at least a little about engines and transmissions, pistons and gears, oily bits and even oilier ones.
Now, though, a software developer is just as vital as the engineer, and if you'd ask the two which one feels his job is more secure over the course of the next five years, I'm pretty sure the former is going to be more confident than the latter.
That's down to the turn the industry has taken in recent years. It first started with hybrid and electric powertrains, and now it has evolved into self-driving vehicles that have more computing power than the whole of NASA did when it flew the first people to the Moon.
These changes meant that a lot of different companies that had nothing to do with this business until then found themselves deeply involved in the activity of carmaking. Google and Apple are the first that spring to mind, but they are not alone. And now, they might be joined by yet another big name from an apparently unconnected field of activity.
You might have first come across the British company Dyson in a public toilet. You had just washed your hands and were pondering whether to go out hands wet or to give those poor machines that are supposed to dry your hands another go, even though they suck. There was a new model, so you opted for the latter. You stuck your hands into the Dyson Airblade and, merely ten seconds later, they were completely dried. Magic.
Later on, Dyson started making vacuum cleaners as well. They look like condensed grenade launchers with their countless mini-turbines, but like all things Dyson, they work great. Using the "power in numbers" principle, the company's vacuum cleaners deliver exceptional suction power at low levels of noise. And also at a price.
Now, though, British newspaper The Guardian says that the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan put together by the country's government mentions a 174 million pound investment ($245 million) in Dyson for developing a battery electric vehicle.
Even though the reference has been edited out in the meantime (it's still available on the newspaper's website), things add up. It is well-known that the British would like to be key players in the EV market, and right now Dyson could be their best choice. At the same time, the company specializing in blowing and sucking air has bought Sakti3, a startup working on long-life batteries, so if Dyson were to make an EV, it would be a perfect time.
That's down to the turn the industry has taken in recent years. It first started with hybrid and electric powertrains, and now it has evolved into self-driving vehicles that have more computing power than the whole of NASA did when it flew the first people to the Moon.
These changes meant that a lot of different companies that had nothing to do with this business until then found themselves deeply involved in the activity of carmaking. Google and Apple are the first that spring to mind, but they are not alone. And now, they might be joined by yet another big name from an apparently unconnected field of activity.
You might have first come across the British company Dyson in a public toilet. You had just washed your hands and were pondering whether to go out hands wet or to give those poor machines that are supposed to dry your hands another go, even though they suck. There was a new model, so you opted for the latter. You stuck your hands into the Dyson Airblade and, merely ten seconds later, they were completely dried. Magic.
Later on, Dyson started making vacuum cleaners as well. They look like condensed grenade launchers with their countless mini-turbines, but like all things Dyson, they work great. Using the "power in numbers" principle, the company's vacuum cleaners deliver exceptional suction power at low levels of noise. And also at a price.
Now, though, British newspaper The Guardian says that the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan put together by the country's government mentions a 174 million pound investment ($245 million) in Dyson for developing a battery electric vehicle.
Even though the reference has been edited out in the meantime (it's still available on the newspaper's website), things add up. It is well-known that the British would like to be key players in the EV market, and right now Dyson could be their best choice. At the same time, the company specializing in blowing and sucking air has bought Sakti3, a startup working on long-life batteries, so if Dyson were to make an EV, it would be a perfect time.
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