Virgin Group eying opportunities in electric car business

Richard Branson has tried his hands in almost every transportation business, be it the trains, planes, spacecrafts or even the cruise ships. His brand Virgin is present in all of these verticals. But are cars next in this list? At least his words in a latest interview, hints at the same.  

While talking about Virgin’s involvement in the all-electric Formula E championship, Branson mentioned that the brand may eventually expand into the mainstream electric car business as well, sparking speculations over a potential Tesla rival under planning. He also mentioned that he has dedicated people working particularly on electric cars.

“We have teams of people working on electric cars," Branson replied when questioned about Virgin’s participation in the Formula E Championship. "So you never know, you may find Virgin competing with the Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business."

The British billionaire mention of the ‘space business’ refers to their ‘Virgin Galactic’ operation, which is the first ever concept to offer commercial sub-orbital space flights. And Tesla’s ‘Space X’ is their primary rivaling company in this arena.

Thinking green isn’t new for the Virgin group. The company already has a ‘Green Fund,’ which focuses on the development of alternative fuel sources, so perhaps it wouldn't be all-of-a sudden move to see Virgin entering into the electric cars business next. And Virgin isn't the only one flirting with the idea of bringing the electric cars in the near future, as even non-carmakers such as Apple and search engine giant- Google are also mulling for the same.

Source: Bloomberg