The Dutch company Lightyear has announced that this fall it will start building the world's first production car equipped with solar panels.
The Lightyear 0 will have solar panels curved into its roof, hood and trunk that fill the electric battery as it drives (or stays parked) and first deliveries could be in Europe as early as November.
The company says the car will be able to drive 388 miles without stopping to recharge, and will have an additional 44 miles per day range from the solar panels. For comparison, that's a bit more than the Tesla Model 3 (374 miles), and a lot more than the Kia Niro Long Range (285 miles).
According to Lightyear, every hour in the sun will add up to six miles of charge to the battery. The solar range will give extra drip feed of miles for long trips but it also means you'll spend less time at charging points - or you may not need it at all. The company says that in a hot province like Spain or Portugal, if your daily commute is less than 22 miles, you won't need to drop off the car for up to seven months. In a more cloudy climate, such as the Netherlands, the car will need to be charged after two months.
The number "0" has a lot in common with the Lightyear One prototype unveiled two years ago, but it's able to do more with a smaller battery, says company CEO and co-founder Lex Hoefsloot. “The powertrain is the most efficient in the world,” he claims, adding that the car's aerodynamic shape and four-wheel drives allow a smaller battery to provide the same range.
