Skip to main content

Dutch startup promises a solar car for around $130,000

When most people talk about using solar energy to power cars, they mean sourcing electricity from solar panels. But a new Dutch company has something different in mind.

Lightyear plans to launch an electric “family car” powered by onboard solar cells. It’s called the Lightyear One, in reference to an estimate that all of the world’s cars travel a combined one lightyear every year. Lightyear wants more of that mileage to be covered by electric cars. However, the company’s sparse website doesn’t offer many details on the proposed solar car.

Recommended Videos

The advantage of a solar car is being able to recharge on the go from ambient sunlight. Lightyear claims its car will be able to “drive for months without charging” at a conventional plug-in charging station. But solar panels also add cost and weight, and the need to arrange them on the car’s body in a way that maximizes sunlight absorption could also affect things like interior space. The Lightyear One will also have an onboard battery pack, providing a backup for the solar panels but also increasing weight further.

The people behind Lightyear aren’t your average group of entrepreneurs and industrialists. The company was started by former students of Eindhoven University of Technology, which regularly competes in the World Solar Challenge, a biannual event in Australia in which college students from around the world race across the Outback in hand-built solar cars.

In 2013, Eindhoven students set a record in the Cruiser Class, traveling almost 930 miles on a single charge. Cars in this class must resemble family cars, with multiple seats and vaguely-normal looking bodywork. But these purpose-built racers will never be confused with normal cars.

It may have experience with solar power but, like other automotive startups, Lightyear has no experience actually making production cars. In addition, the company hopes to launch its first car on a shoestring budget. Lightyear plans to spend just a “few million euros” on its first production car, a fraction of what established automakers spend to launch new models, according to NLTimes.

Lightyear is currently taking orders for the One, which is priced at 119,000 euros ($135,000). So far, it has a whopping five orders, but hopes to increase that to 200 by next year, and also start production, according to NLTimes.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Inside the light-speed race to build a solar-powered commuter car
Lightyear one solar car in Red Rock Canyon

The Lightyear One solar car in Red Rock Canyon. Photo courtesy of Lightyear. Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is not your typical tire-melting, gas-torching car race. Instead of a throttle-cranked spin around a blacktop oval, it’s an eco-minded endurance test through the Australian Outback.

Read more
What Lyft and Aptiv learned from 100,000 self-driving car trips
Aptiv-Lyft self-driving car demonstration

Lyft and Aptiv's partnership to develop self-driving cars for ridesharing has reached a major milestone. Aptiv cars operating on the Lyft network in Las Vegas have completed 100,000 trips. The two companies will not discuss scaling up the program, but said the Vegas deployment will serve as a "blueprint" for more widespread use of self-driving cars.

Passengers use the Lyft app to hail a self-driving car, just like they would any other ride. The cars -- modified BMW 5 Series sedans -- are operated by Aptiv (which places human backup drivers in each car) and use the company's autonomous driving system. This arrangement has helped customers learn to trust the technology, a Lyft press release said. While Lyft does have its own in-house self-driving car program, partnering with Aptiv allowed the rideshare company to get self-driving cars on its network more quickly.

Read more
Why Tesla’s promise to deliver 500,000 electric cars in 2020 isn’t unrealistic
tesla model 3 review 7668

Tesla released its 2019 financial results Wednesday, which means it's time for some ambitious goal setting. The Silicon Valley automaker said it expects to "comfortably exceed" 500,000 deliveries in 2020. That's a big step up from 2019's total, but given the progress Tesla has made over the past few years, as well as the production capacity it's working with, that goal should be achievable.

Tesla has been steadily ramping up production since the launch of the Model 3 in 2017. The automaker said it delivered 367,500 cars in 2019 -- 50 percent more than the previous year. To reach 500,000 units, Tesla needs to build 132,500 more cars in 2020 than it did in 2019 -- an increase of 36 percent. So Tesla doesn't need as big an increase for 2020 as it already achieved in 2019. Tesla also has significant untapped production capacity.
Factory upgrades
Tesla's main factory in Fremont, California, was able to build 500,000 cars a year back when it was a General Motors/Toyota joint venture making Toyota Corollas. Tesla's challenge since buying the factory has been unlocking that potential to build its own electric cars. In its 2019 financial results, Tesla said the Fremont factory now has a production capacity of 400,000 cars per year. Upgrades scheduled to finish in mid-2020 will increase capacity for the Model 3 and upcoming Model Y to 500,000 units per year, according to Tesla.

Read more