Lightyear 0, the solar panel car that left its mark on the electric car industry, started production as of December 2022. A total of 946 units would be produced from the car, which would debut at a price of 250 thousand euros. But today, bad news came from the Netherlands-based vehicle manufacturer Lightyear. So much so that the production of Lightyear 0 was stopped. Here are the details…
Production of Lightyear 0 has been canceled for strategic reasons!
In a blog post published today, Lightyear announced that it is canceling the expensive option to focus on Lightyear 2, another solar-panel electric car that can appeal to all segments due to its price. Announced in June 2022, Lightyear 0 promised many firsts with its solar panel system. So much so that the vehicle would be able to travel 70 km a day without recharging with solar energy in places with full sun.
Lightyear 0, which was able to cover a range of 724 km with a 60kWh battery in tests conducted in Germany, was one of the most expensive electric cars in the world. With the revenue from this vehicle, the company would focus on Lightyear 2 with a price band of 30 thousand euros, but this plan was delayed due to some strategic decisions. Thus, the production of the world’s first electric vehicle with solar panel production was stopped.
Lightyear CEO and co-founder Lex Hoefsloot used the following statements on the subject:
“Unfortunately, we had to make this decision. The entire process of developing Lightyear 0 has taught our company many valuable lessons over the past years. We are now directing all of our energy into building Lightyear 2 so customers can use it on time. We recently launched a waiting list for Lightyear 2, reaching more than 40,000 individual customer subscriptions and already nearly 20,000 pre-orders from fleet owners. We hope to complete some significant investments in the coming weeks to move on to Lightyear 2, an affordable solar-powered electric vehicle for a wider audience.”
The Lightyear 2 solar panel electric car is expected to begin production in 2025. So what do you think about this news? Do not forget to share your views with us in the Comments section.
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