Dyson is working on an electric car set to launch by 2020

Dyson, maker of high-tech vacuum cleaners and fans, has long been rumored to be getting into the car game. That’s no longer a rumor, as the company has confirmed that it’s working on a battery electric vehicle with an all-electric drivetrain to be launched by 2020.

The news comes from Dyson founder and CEO James Dyson himself, who announced the project via an internal company-wide email. The email details how Dyson’s original vision for the cyclonic motor that’s a trademark ingredient in its hand dryers and vacuums was originally inspired by a desire to take emissions from diesel engines out of the air.

That original diesel capture system didn’t catch on as Dyson would’ve hoped, but it would eventually prove the basis for the motors it uses in its own vacuums, including battery-powered cordless options that combine power and efficiency. Dyson says that his goal and the goal of his company, however remained reduction of global pollution levels.

That’s why they’re combining the efforts of a variety of their teams, and expertise built to create their other consumer products in one effort to develop this battery electric car. Dyson has a team consisting of its “top” engineers, including a number of automotive industry veterans, that number over 400 already, and it’s set to invest nearly $3 billion in the project.

Dyson is staying mum on info beyond that it’s working on a car and hopes to have it on the road by 2020. We knew this was likely coming, thanks to hires and other info, but it’s still exciting to see the UK-based global tech leader enter the fray in a field very different from where it’s had previous success.

Featured Image: Jason Kempin/Getty Images