Solar Car: The First Lightyear Already Disappears

The Dutch solar car specialist is forced to revise its plans. Its first model is already paying the price and has disappeared from the catalog just a few weeks after going into production.

Having ambition is good, but you also need the means to realize that ambition, and that’s not always easy for the small manufacturers currently emerging. Lightyear once again demonstrates this by announcing the discontinuation of its first model, the 0. The production of this model was limited to 946 units, sold at a unit price of €250,000. Lightyear has not disclosed how many units have actually been produced. Officially, production started in November, at a factory in Finland.

If Lightyear is stopping the 0, it is to better focus on its second model, the Lightyear 2. More than 40,000 potential customers have already shown interest in this car, which, like the 0, will partially recharge its batteries with solar energy. The official presentation has not yet taken place, but Lightyear has promised a price around €40,000 and a range of 800 km. As with the 0, solar energy will be used as a supplement: it will partially charge a battery that will continue to primarily rely on energy from the electrical grid. Its impact on the vehicle’s range will depend on weather conditions. For the 0, Lightyear estimated that solar energy could generate up to 70 km per day.

The solar car, a complex challenge to overcome

Lightyear’s announcement comes just days after Sono’s call for help, another player working on a solar car. The German startup has launched a crowdfunding campaign to quickly raise liquidity. Through this campaign, it hopes to secure 3,500 orders for the Sion, a small solar van sold for €25,000.

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