Given the driving popularity of electric vehicles, evidenced in EY's most recent Mobility Consumer Index report, solar-powered cars will no sooner become even more commonplace as the technology advances. In the hands of Lightyear, a Netherlandish startup founded in 2016, the full breadth of solar-powered ingenuity will no sooner be at hand as the firm gears up for mass production on its Lightyear 0, a sedan covered in solar panels that boats 388 miles of range.
The Lightyear solar-powered vehicle assembly features around 53.8 square feet of solar panels, specifically dubbed "patented, double curve solar arrays" via the team. These inclusions allow the solar car to gain energy while sitting and driving amidst the sun's backdrop. The technology lends credence to the possibility of never needing to stop for any form of refueling, as the startup posits an average 21-mile commute could potentially fuel the ride for months, depending on the climate.
Lightyear adds almost nonchalantly, "In climates such as the Netherlands, it would be two months and, in Spain or Portugal, as much as seven months."
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The startup's production-ready solar-powered vehicle utilizes a 60kWh battery pack alongside four electric motors with a purported 10-second zero to 62mph dash potential. The Lightyear 0 will be supplied with 1,269 lb-ft of torque in addition to 174 horsepower and a whopping top speed of 100mph. It will also have over-the-air software updates, akin to Tesla and other assorted EVs, as well as phone-as-key capabilities, kitted out with a center touchscreen that runs on Google's vehicle OS, Android Automotive.
Lightyear showed off a similar construct back in 2019, which at the time was boasting 450 miles of range on a prototype called Lightyear One. The auto manufacturer would later showcase more details on the One iteration in late 2021, slapping a $34,000 price tag on the solar-powered vehicle in order to diversify the Lightyear vehicles portfolio. According to the startup, its Lightyear 0 will cost a relatively affordable $263,262 (€250,000) and will only have 946 made in its likeness.
While at the forefront of solar-powered EV ingenuity, Lightyear isn't the only company in the process of bridging solar technology into the automobile industry. Aptera is making huge strides in its own solar EV business, recently riding home with $40 million in crowdfunding to advance its line of so-called "autocycles," which look more like rides from a 2079 cyberpunk future Los Angeles. Additionally, there's the German-based Sono Motors, which not 24 hours prior to writing, announced 18,300 reservations for its Sion solar-powered vehicle.
Lightyear, however, wants to stand apart from the rest by breaking the mold, evidenced most prominently in its exorbitant asking price for the Lightyear 0. The startup not only has a fully dedicated manufacturing partner in the guise of Valmet Automotive and remains at the forefront of the solar-powered EV endeavor with a full production timeline set in stone.
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