Dyson plans expansion for UK electric car facility

UK vacuum cleaner firm Dyson announced on Thursday it had submitted a planning application to expand its facilities at a former military airfield in order to develop electric vehicles.

The company said Thursday it plans to build more than 10 miles of test tracks at the former Hullavington Airfield in southern England. The tracks will have high speed sections, hills and off-road routes to properly test the cars.

Dyson also plans to build new offices for over 2,000 staff that will be based at the site, where 400 people were already employed.

The company said it will invest £200m in its electric car program. The cars are expected to be ready for testing in 2020 with their launch set for 2021.

The announcement comes a year after Dyson revealed plans to expand into the electric vehicle market and to go head-to-head against Tesla.

Dyson has yet to announce whether it will mass-produce its electric vehicles in the UK once testing is complete. The firm designs and develops the products in the UK but manufactures them in cheaper locations such as Singapore.

The company currently employs 12,000 people all around the world with 4,800 of those based in the UK.