The British firm chose Singapore because of its proximity to “high-growth markets” in Asia, the chief executive, Jim Rowan, said in a memo to staff. The plant will be completed in 2020, with the car to be launched in 2021.
Dyson already manufactures electric motors for its other products, such as vacuum cleaners and fans, in Singapore, where it employs 1,100 staff. Staff numbers in Singapore will double after it completes the new facility.
The firm, founded by the billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson, is developing the car at its research facilities in Wiltshire, pitting it against firms such as Tesla, the California-based electric car firm founded by Elon Musk, as well as the tech giants Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.
In August, Dyson said it plans to expand its Wiltshire operations, to accommodate another 2,000 employees.
However, in the memo to staff, Rowan said the decision to choose Singapore was “complex, based on supply chains, access to markets, and the availability of the expertise that will help us achieve our ambitions”.
Rowan also highlighted the availability of engineering talent in Singapore, in spite of its “comparatively high cost base”.
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