Dyson, a UK technology company known for its fans and vacuum cleaners, is set to spend £2bn on creating its own “radical” electric car.
The vehicle, which will be battery-powered, is set to be launched by 2020.
Half of the allocated funding will be spent on developing the vehicle itself, while the remaining £1bn will be used to create the battery.
Headquartered in Wiltshire and founded by Sir James Dyson, the company says 400 of its employees have been working on the secret project for the past couple of years.
Dyson announced the news in an email sent to staff, which said: “Competition for new technology in the automotive industry is fierce and we must do everything we can to keep the specifics of our vehicle confidential.”
Specific details, such as the firm’s annual production or the cost of the vehicle, are unknown.
James Dyson just announced to @Dyson employees that we’ve begun work on a battery electric vehicle, due to launch in 2020. pic.twitter.com/yUZNvIsYIi
— Dyson (@Dyson) September 26, 2017
For now, Dyson said the vehicle would look “different” to other cars out there and stressed it would not be geared towards the mass market.
As a result of the announcement, Dyson will join other well-known electric car manufacturers such as Tesla, Nissan and BMW.