EV startup Lightyear debuted its first solar-powered vehicle this week, a sleek sedan called the Lightyear 0. The company gave us an inside look at a production prototype of Lightyear 0 in 2019, and at first glance there isn’t much changed. The car is essentially an unconventional hybrid equipped with both a conventional 60 kilowatt-hour EV battery pack and solar panels on the roof, hood and hatch. The solar panels on the Lightyear 0 are automatically charged when the car is exposed to the sun – it doesn’t matter whether it is parked or driving.
The Lightyear 0 does not run on solar energy so much as on solar energy. To be able to drive long distances, the vehicle must tap into its battery reserve. The car’s solar panels can provide 74 miles a day in a sunny climate, while the EV range is 588 miles. But for drivers with exceptionally short commutes or for those who don’t need their vehicle very often, the Lightyear 0 can enable them to stop spending money on petrol or charging. The company claims that people with a daily commute of 22 miles can drive the Lightyear 0 for two months in a row in the summer in the Netherlands without having to recharge. Drivers in sunnier climates can drive longer. Lightyear claims that the sun can provide the Lightyear 0 with a range of between 3,700 and 6,800 miles annually.
It is important to note that Lightyear 0 owners will have to drive for a significant amount of time to justify purchasing the vehicle as a cost-saving measure. The Lightyear 0 costs $250,000 (which works out to about $263,262 USD), and the company plans to make just 946 units. But a more reasonably priced car is on the way. Lightyear also recently unveiled a prototype of a $33,000 solar-powered car, set to go into production by 2025.
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