Chinese company Dreame has canceled all of its plans related to car manufacturing, including an electric supercar project it unveiled with promises of using solid rocket boosters to accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 0.9 seconds. The company, known primarily for robot vacuums and household appliances, began promoting its automotive ambitions last year.
Dreame displayed its first supercar at CES this year and also discussed developing a luxury SUV to compete with the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. At an event it held in San Francisco in April, the company went even further by announcing a version of the car that would rely on rocket propulsion to achieve performance beyond what car tires normally allow.
A Technically Striking but Limited-Use Project
The idea is based on a well-known problem in high-performance cars: tires become a limiting factor for acceleration, even when engine power is increased. Additional thrust from rockets could theoretically overcome this limitation, but using solid rocket boosters means, according to the article, that they would likely be single-use and require recharging or replacement after operation. The solution was therefore closer to a technological demonstration than a practical feature for daily use.
Apart from the rocket boosters, the project involved a relatively conventional electric car in terms of its powertrain, but with a stated output of 1,876 horsepower. Reports now indicate that this model itself will not become a commercial product after Dreame decided to exit the automotive business entirely.
Layoffs and Questions About the Program’s Seriousness
CarNewsChina reported that Dreame halted its automotive programs about a year after launching them and that the division peaked at nearly 1,000 employees before experiencing ongoing layoffs in recent months. China Economy also cited internal sources as saying that the car project was closer to a marketing and fundraising activity than to a serious manufacturing program. The same sources claim that the way the division was organized was not efficient in terms of research and development spending and may have caused problems with regulatory authorities. These points are presented as reports and information from internal sources, not as a detailed official announcement from Dreame.
Why Does This Cancellation Matter?
The decision highlights the limits of a rapid transition from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. The relative ease of designing electric vehicles compared with internal-combustion engines does not eliminate the challenges of manufacturing, certification, testing, and supply chains. Companies such as Xiaomi have succeeded in introducing electric cars, but that does not automatically make the experience replicable for every technology company.
Dreame’s retreat comes amid a series of cancellations of automotive projects by companies that are not traditionally part of the sector, including Apple’s project known as Project Titan, the joint Sony/Honda project, and Dyson’s electric-vehicle project. What is new in Dreame’s case is the speed of the transition from highly ambitious presentations to closing the program within months, leaving open questions about the project’s actual investment level, the extent to which any regulatory considerations influenced the decision, and whether the company will announce additional official details about it.