Question

Mr Liang Eng Hwa: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the impact of Dyson's cancellation of plans to build electric vehicles (EV) in Singapore and whether there are value propositions and opportunities to develop the EV business.

Oral Answer (to be attributed to Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Mr Chee Hong Tat)

1. Dyson’s decision to wind down its electric vehicle business will not impact its presence and operations in Singapore. Out of Dyson’s 1,200-strong workforce in Singapore, 20 employees are from their electric vehicle business. Dyson will redeploy the affected employees within the organization.

2. Although Dyson will no longer pursue its electric vehicle business, it will continue to grow its core business in Singapore, develop battery technology for consumer products, and expand R&D in areas such as sensors, robotics and artificial intelligence, which will also support the development of a smart mobility ecosystem.

3. Other companies have also expressed interest in developing smart mobility solutions in Singapore. They value our highly skilled workforce, our strengths in advanced technologies such as robotics and automation, and our strong intellectual property protection regime, and if I may add, our strong tripartite partnership. We will continue to work with these companies to harness the new opportunities for Singapore, for our companies, for our workers.