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- Dyson’s high regard for its own manufacturing prowess mattered a lot less with an electric car than it might have with a gas-guzzler, says Cairn’s Jaffe, because an electric vehicle is a much simpler machine and more easily commoditized. Henrik Fisker, the heralded designer of the iconic BMW Z8 who developed a plug-in hybrid with federally-backed loans, says ticking off suppliers is a fatal blunder for any new car company. Perhaps more important, he says, is that the industry is less known for its fat margins than for its stringent legal requirements in dozens of international markets. “The old saying goes it’s easy to become a millionaire in the car industry, you just have to start out a billionaire,” Fisker says.
