Lightyear's Solar-Powered Vehicle to Go into Production in Late 2022

This week EV startup Lightyear introduced its first solar-powered vehicle - a sedan called the «Lightyear 0». Previously, in 2019, the company sneaked at a prototype of Lightyear 0, and at first glance, not much has changed. The car appeared to be an unconventional hybrid equipped with both a conventional 60-kilowatt-hour EV battery pack and solar panels located on vehicle’s roof, hood and hatch. As planned, the solar panels on the Lightyear 0 will charge automatically when the car is exposed to the sun irrespective of whether the car is parked or driving.

Still, the vehicle is more of a solar-assisted one rather than solar-powered as in order to drive for long distances, the vehicle has to tap into its battery reserve while solar panels can provide only 44 miles of range per day in a sunny climate, whereas its EV range is 388 miles. However, for drivers travelling for short distances, the Lightyear 0 can be essential to spending less money on gas or charging. The company claims that those with a daily commute of 22 miles can drive the Lightyear 0 for two straight months in the Nothern Europe-like summer climate without additional charging while drivers in sunnier climates can go for even longer. Lightyear claims that the sun energy can provide the Lightyear 0 between 3,700 to 6,800 miles of range annually.

It’s important to note that Lightyear 0 owners will need to drive for a significantly long time in order to justify the purchase of the vehicle can be a cost-saving measure. The company only plans to produce only 946 items and the price for each will account for €250,000 (ca. $263,262). Moreover, Lightyear recently unveiled a less costly prototype of a $33,000 solar-powered car, which is scheduled to go into production by 2025.