LONDON (AP) — Dyson, the British company best known for groundbreaking vacuum cleaners, is scrapping its electric car project because it doesn't make business sense.

Billionaire founder James Dyson said in an email to employees on Thursday that the project was shut down because the company "simply can no longer see a way to make it commercially viable."

He said it had failed to find a buyer for the project.

Dyson announced plans last year to build the car in Singapore as part of a 2.5 billion pound ($3.1 billion) investment in new technology globally.

Dyson, who had disclosed few details about the car, said it wasn't a "product failure."

The project was an ambitious attempt to enter an industry where even visionaries like Tesla's Elon Musk have struggled to make money.