Lightyear, the Dutch company that is planning to make a highly-aerodynamic long-range solar car called the Lightyear One, has inked a deal with Leaseplan that will see it provide 5,000 solar cars under subscription plans as soon as 2024.
However, it will not be the Lightyear One, which it is planning to start making in 2022 with Finnish company Valmet Automotive. Instead, the new deal will see Leaseplan pre-order the company’s second solar car, which will be fittingly called the Lightyear Two.
The Lightyear Two, the solar carmaker says, will be a more affordable option than its first solar car and priced from €30,000 ($A47,187 converted).
Leaseplan currently has 1.8 million vehicles in its global fleet in 29 countries, so 5,000 vehicles is but a drop in the ocean. However, the deal with Lightyear is an indication that there is more just a fleeting interest in alternatively-powered vehicles.
In addition to being cheaper to run, electric cars with integrated solar panels have the potential to reduce charging time as well as driving costs.
Lightyear’s validation prototype has already demonstrated this, according to Lightyear CEO Lex Hoefsloot.
In the company’s keynote presentation, Lightyear CEO Lex Hoefsloot explained in a Nissan Leaf with a 60kWh battery, driving 45 miles (72km) a day in a month with one 450 miles-long (720km) trip, a driver would spend 8.25 hours charging and spend $US143.
But, driving exactly same way in the Lightyear One, a driver would spend 2.1 hours charging and pay just $37.
“Together, LeasePlan and Lightyear will deliver the world’s first solar-powered car subscription,” said Tex Gunning, CEO of LeasePlan in a statement.
“With Lightyear, range anxiety is a thing of the past, as is the nightmare of having to find a convenient and available charging station – an absolute breakthrough in the fight to cut emissions from road transportation.
z’We look forward to joining forces with Lightyear and putting drivers behind the wheel of some of the cleanest, most innovative EVs ever produced.”
The Lightyear Two has not yet been developed, but the company says it will commence production between 2024 and 2025, although without providing any details or specifications on the vehicle.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.