By Matthew Henry

SYDNEY: Dyson will push for a greater share of the $18 million handheld vacuum category by introducing its second model to the market, the DC16 Motorhead, which comes with a compact powered head ideal for picking up pet hair.

Dyson’s handheld vacuum range now includes the original DC16 (RRP $299) and the new DC16 Motorhead (RRP $349), available today, which comes with a Dyson-designed powered head with a spinning brush bar for more effective pick-up of hair and lint.

According to Dyson, the DC16 has to date experienced strong sales since launching earlier this year.

“We launched our first DC16 handheld vacuum in February and it went from zero to market leader within three weeks,” said Dyson South East Asia managing director, Ross Cameron.

“It has since come down about four or five per cent from that mark after our competitors retaliated like crazy through promotions and special deals and so on.”

Cameron believes the inclusion of a motorised head with the DC16 Motorhead is the final element needed to enable the DC16 to truly cater for all handheld vacuuming needs, and for just $50 more than the standard package, the company believes it will be a popular seller.

“We saw it as a slight negative, the fact that we didn’t have this brushing action, because it’s the brushing action that is the only way to get pet hair, fibre and lint out of your carpets. So for those who get pet hair in the car and lint on their lounge, the DC16 can now cater,” he said.

In addition to the updated DC16 handheld, Dyson will also launch the new DC21 barrel vacuum with a Motorhead floor tool.

“There are motorheads and there are motorheads, and this is the first really serious motorhead for a barrel vacuum,” Cameron said.

The new DC21 Motorhead has adapted the Ball upright vacuum technology which provides the DC15 and DC18 upright vacuums’ maneuverability and transferred it into the DC21’s motorhead itself, providing greater control and movement of the actual vacuum head.

“The head for the DC21 is taken directly off the Ball uprights, so if users want a barrel vacuum that cleans like an upright, then this is the machine. It gives you the compact machine for storage, it gives you the light maneuverability of a barrel and it also gives you the full cleaning of an upright head. It’s the only one on the market that does it,” he said.

“Everything on this machine is robust – it’s designed to be tough and it stands out as such. But the most important thing is that this product meets and exceeds consumer expectation, and I have no doubt that it will.”