Lightyear in 5,000 solar car deal with car-sharing platform

Dutch solar car company Lightyear has announced a partnership that will see  5,000 Lightyear solar EVs to car-sharing platform MyWheels, with the first cars to be made available next year.

Lightyear, which is developing the world’s first long-distance solar car, and The Sharing Group will supply 5,000 Lightyear Two solar cars starting in 2025 to the market leader in the field of shared cars in the Netherlands, MyWheels.

Lightyear’s first solar EV, the Lightyear One, will be offered on the MyWheels platform starting in 2023.

“The future of mobility is not just about the vehicle itself, but also about the way we use it. The car-sharing concept is an example of how the market is evolving to find new, more sustainable ways to keep people mobile without owning a car of their own,” said Lex Hoefsloot, co-founder and CEO of Lightyear.

“By offering Lightyears through a car-sharing service like MyWheels, we can fulfill our mission faster and more efficiently. This partnership is an exciting step towards a cleaner future, and we are proud to join forces with MyWheels and The Sharing Group.”

Lightyear earlier this year said the low energy consumption of its Lightyear One prototype had been validated with a recorded energy consumption of 141Wh per kilometre on a 10-degree day in Italy, which resulted in a 400km drive using a battery capacity of 60kWh and driving at 130km/hr.

This validation built on a previous test drive in July 2021 when the car was driven at 85km/hr for 9 hours straight over a distance of 710km – at the time, the longest distance any car had driven on a 60kWh battery.

Lightyear is only planning to build a limited number of its Lightyear One solar EV, having announced a production run of 946 to be built in the second half of this year, but the car will nevertheless be added to the MyWheels car-sharing platform.

The Lightyear Two, however, will be the company’s mass-market production model which is set to go to market in 2024/25 with a starting price of €30,000.

In late 2021 Lightyear signed a deal with Dutch automotive leasing and fleet management company LeasePlan to supply 5,000 Two’s under subscription plans as soon as 2024.

“MyWheels is investing heavily in electrification and now more than 50% of the shared car fleet is electric,” said Karina Tiekstra, CEO of MyWheels.

“With the arrival of Lightyear on the platform, we let our users experience the future of mobility. A great step in our mission to keep the Netherlands mobile with 1 million cars.”