Dreame announces three SUVs under new Star Motor EV brand; CEO says Tesla will exit in 20 years – report

In case you’ve not heard of Dreame, it’s a Suzhou-based robot vacuum maker that’s going into cars, and instead of dipping its toes in the water, is diving into the deep end.

It’s so far unveiled two concepts – a supercar (which looked a lot like a Bugatti Chiron with four doors in the original renderings the company released) and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan clone.

Now, according to Car News China, Dreame has unveiled a new (sub-) brand called Star Motor, and it looks like it’s for SUVs. The company has also announced three models under this brand – T08, T08L and D09. The first two are hardcore off-roaders while the D09 is a luxurious six-seater. Look at the D09 above – it seems Dreame has toned down the Cullinan-ness, just like it did with its supercar vis-à-vis the Bugatti.

Dreame says Star Motor vehicles will have ‘super chassis technology’, rear-wheel steering up to 24 degrees, a five-metre turning radius, four independent motors, active suspension and the ‘world’s first self-evolving energy recovery system’, which is claimed to be able to yield 18% higher recovery efficiency, 30% better energy consumption matching and 12% further high-speed range.

Sure – but here’s the spicy part. Founder and CEO Yu Hao is clearly not a fan of Tesla nor Elon Musk. He posted recently on social media: “Prediction: In 20 years, Tesla will become the iRobot of the electric vehicle industry. It will face continuous losses and eventually exit the EV market. Of course, Elon Musk will not admit it; he’ll say he voluntarily withdrew.”

iRobot is an American company founded in 1990 that was one of the pioneers of robot vacuums. It filed for bankruptcy last year and was acquired by a Chinese firm. We’re grabbing some popcorn…

Dreame’s dreams so far