Former Infiniti boss Krueger to head Dyson auto unit

Infiniti's former boss has landed a new gig. And he won't have to relocate too far.

Roland Krueger, 53, is taking the top job at Dyson Ltd.'s automotive unit, which plans to put an electric vehicle on the road by 2021.

On Jan. 6, Hong Kong-based Infiniti said Krueger was leaving to "pursue new opportunities." Former Nissan U.S. sales boss Christian Meunier replaced Krueger as Infiniti as global president.

Dyson CEO Jim Rowan on Tuesday announced Krueger's appointment on an earnings conference call, in which he also said U.K.-based Dyson is shifting its headquarters to Singapore.

Krueger's appointment "proves how serious we really are about taking this project, and indeed this division and this category, to the next level," Rowan said. "We expect to be able to go in and disrupt yet another industry using bespoke Dyson technology and innovation."

Krueger, a former BMW executive, led Infiniti since 2015. He joined as the brand was reeling from major executive defections, including President Johan de Nysschen and Chairman Andy Palmer.

Under Krueger's watch, Infiniti sales rose 15 percent. Infiniti achieved its eighth consecutive year of record volume in 2017 with 246,492 vehicles sold globally, a 7 percent increase from the prior year. 2018 global sales have not yet been reported. Infiniti's U.S. sales fell 2.7 percent last year to 149,280 vehicles.

Dyson, best known for its vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, is an unlikely contender in the hypercompetitive electric vehicle arms race.

The company plans to invest $2.6 billion to start building electric cars. Unlike the wave of traditional automakers — such as Volkswagen Group, Daimler AG and General Motors, who have hitched their EV wagon to lithium ion battery technology — Dyson will use solid-state batteries it says are smaller and more efficient.

Dyson's headquarters relocation to Singapore, home to the world's second-largest container port and an advanced manufacturing hub, underscores Asia's importance to the business.

Dyson is seeing the biggest demand for products such as air purifiers and hair dryers in Asia, where it has manufacturing operations.

The relocation "allows us to make sure we will be putting our best efforts to secure those opportunities, as well as keeping an eye on those investments, especially EV and batteries," Rowan said.

Reuters contributed to this report.