The race to become the first company to begin series production of a solar electric car has been won by Dutch company Lightyear, which announced last week that it had begun production of the first Lightyear 0 solar electric vehicles.
The solar EV will be built at Valmet Automotive’s facility in Uusikaupunki, Finland, Lightyear expects to produce one car per week before gradually scaling up production through the first quarter of 2023.
While this is not the first solar electric car to be produced – with various companies building necessary prototypes and verification versions – Lightyear says this is the first series production solar electric car.
In doing so, Lightyear beats out rivals like Sono Motors and Aptera Motors, both of whom claim to some degree to be the “first” solar electric vehicle.
“We have hit many milestones in recent years, from major funding achievements to great partnerships,” said Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear.
“However, today is the most significant, and probably the most challenging, milestone we have reached so far. Starting production of Lightyear 0, the first solar car, brings us a big step closer to our mission of clean mobility for everyone, everywhere. We may be the first to achieve this, but I certainly hope we aren’t the last.”
The Lightyear 0 boasts a smaller battery capacity than many EVs at only 60kWh, but it is supplemented by its own solar power.
The Lightyear 0 promises in excess of 1,000 kilometres of driving range when combining the 625km (WLTP) battery range with up to 70km of additional daily solar range over several days.
Lightyear announced in June that it had selected Valmet Automotive, one of the world’s largest contract vehicle manufacturers, to produce the Lightyear 0.
“We share Lightyear’s motivation for creating new, more sustainable mobility solutions and we are excited to be part of this innovative development in the automotive industry right now,” said Olaf Bongwald, CEO of Valmet Automotive.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.