The first solar cars from the Helmond-based company Lightyear will roll off the production line in November. With the battery, the electric car has a range of more than six hundred kilometers. With the help of the built-in solar panels you can even drive more than a thousand kilometers. The final version of the Lightyear 0 was presented on Thursday. The price tag: 250,000 euros.
The very first Lightyear is characterized by the five square meters of curved solar panels on the back of the car. With this alone, the electric car can drive about seventy kilometers a day, on top of the range of 625 kilometers with the battery. In the summer, you could drive to and from work with solar energy for free, if you stay within a 35-kilometer radius.
“Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for.”
In climates like that of the Netherlands, that would be possible for two months. According to the company, this should be possible for at least seven months in Spain or Portugal, for example.
At Lightyear in Helmond they are very proud that they have succeeded in producing a solar car. The company was founded in 2016 by former students of the TU/e in Eindhoven. “Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for since we, the five founders, sketched in a kitchen our dream to build the most sustainable car in the world,” said co-founder and CEO Lex Hoefsloot.
He continues: “In 2016 we only had an idea. Three years later we had a prototype. Now, after six years of testing, (re)designing and countless obstacles, Lightyear 0 is proof that the impossible is indeed possible.”
“We had to start with our technology from scratch and with a clean slate.”
Lightyear One, as the first solar car was initially called, is now marketed as 0. “We want the identity of the car to be indistinguishable from another brand. We had to start from scratch with our technology and with a clean slate.” As a result, Lightyear 0 fits better as a name for this car,” said a spokesperson.
A total of a maximum of 946 pieces of the luxury model will be made. It will cost 250,000 euros. Previously, the sales price was set at 150,000 euros, but due to rising costs, the Lightyear 0 has become a ton more expensive.
Lightyear promises to come up with an affordable variant of the solar car in two to three years. It must then be for sale for a price from 30,000 euros. It is not yet clear to what extent the cheaper version differs from the luxury version. It is also not yet known whether that car, like the 0, will be produced in a factory in Finland.
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