Heard Around the Industry: Dyson cancels its electric car project

It is easy for even respected industry titans like James Dyson, inventor of the cyclonic vacuum cleaner, to underestimate how capital- and time-intensive it is to develop a passenger vehicle for sale to consumers. Apple's long-rumored car is nowhere to be seen, for example. So it was no huge surprise when Dyson announced cancellation of his company's electric vehicle project. This elicited a variety of observations from around the industry.

Dan Carney is a Design News senior editor, covering automotive technology, engineering and design, especially emerging electric vehicle and autonomous technologies.