Dreame Starry Sky shutdown 2026: what happened to the vacuum maker's car project

China Economy reports Dreame is shutting down its Starry Sky car project and liquidating related entities, just a year after entering the auto business.

Author: Nikita Novikov

20:59 25-08-2026

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Dreame’s automotive story, which began just a year ago with promises to build one of the world’s fastest electric cars, is nearing its end. Chinese outlet China Economy reports that the company has decided to shut down its automotive division and liquidate the legal entities tied to the Starry Sky project. At its peak, the division employed almost 1,000 people; now only a few dozen staff remain to settle accounts with suppliers and handle the legal paperwork. A representative for the project did not respond to a request for comment.

The reversal stands out against the company’s earlier plans. Back in spring, SPEEDME.RU covered the Dreame Nebula NEXT 01 Jet Edition, with a claimed 0–100 km/h time of 0.9 seconds. The concept was also said to feature rocket boosters and roughly 100 kN of thrust. In June, the company was pushing its automotive ambitions hard enough to set a goal of breaking into Australia’s top ten car brands within five years — a stage of the project also covered in detail by SPEEDME.RU.

Now China Economy, citing former employees, paints a very different picture. According to them, the supercar shown at CES had no complete chassis and was moved around remotely, while the demo Rocket Car was built from a purchased mock-up later fitted with a chassis, powertrain and boosters for public displays. These claims come from former staff and have not been officially confirmed by Dreame.

Signs of the wind-down appeared earlier. Back on June 23, Dreame officially announced moving its automotive units into an industrial research institute structure, shifting the focus to technology development and testing rather than standalone car production. In August, First Financial found mass-empty desks and departures among the project’s leadership.

So for now it’s more accurate to talk about a project shutdown reported by China Economy citing its own sources, rather than an official Dreame exit from the car business. If the reports are fully confirmed, the production Nebula NEXT 01 will never reach the market — the project will end at the concept and demo-car stage.