Lightyear says its $263,000 solar-powered car will go into production later this year - The Verge

Dutch startup Lightyear revealed its first vehicle, the solar-powered EV Lightyear 0. The company claims it will go into production at the end of this year.

EV startup Lightyear revealed its first solar-powered electric vehicle, dubbed Lightyear 0, at an event this week in the Netherlands. The vehicle, which Lightyear describes as production-ready, has 388 miles of range, 44 miles of which are derived from solar power alone.

The Lightyear 0 is the product of six years of research and development from its engineering team. That said, it doesn’t look too dissimilar from the sleek sedan prototype first revealed by the company in 2019. The specs are a little more down to earth: 388 miles versus the prototype’s 450 miles — but the overall shape and design of the vehicle appear mostly unchanged.

The inclusion of solar panels, which is rare in the automotive space, is what makes this vehicle stand out. The Lightyear 0 features five square meters (53.8 square feet) of “patented, double curve solar arrays,” allowing the vehicle to charge itself when it’s driving around or just sitting in the sun. Someone who has a daily commute of just under 35km (21 miles) could conceivably drive for months without having to plug the vehicle in for recharging.

“In climates such as the Netherlands, it would be two months and, in Spain or Portugal, as much as seven months,” Lightyear claims.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/10/23162615/lightyear-solar-car-ev-range-specs-price

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