The Lightyear 0 (formerly the Lightyear One) is an all-solar-electric car by the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

car manufacturer

Lightyear A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by t ...

. Production was originally scheduled to start in 2021, with a starting price of incl.

VAT A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...

. The first units were delivered in December 2022. In January 2023, Lightyear announced that it was halting production of the 0 model, and that Atlas Technologies B.V., the subsidiary responsible for the manufacture of the Lightyear 0, would be allowed to go bankrupt. After a restart and new investments the manufacturer is now focusing on a more affordable model, Lightyear 2.

Overview

Lightyear one Fully Charged Europe 2022 6

The Lightyear 0 is a large fastback, with the bonnet, roof, and boot clad covered with of

solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.

s, producing a WLTP range of . The Lightyear company claims the 782 solar cells across the car can add of range per day during summer. The aerodynamics of the vehicle were stated to produce a record-low . The car is all-wheel drive, with four in-wheel electric

hub motor A wheel hub motor, hub motor, or in-wheel motor is a motor that is incorporated into the hub of the wheel. Wheel-hub motors are commonly found on electric bicycles. Electric hub motors were well received in early electric cars, but have not bee ...

s powered by a low-mounted battery. It seats five adults and luggage.

History

The solar panel design was born out of the Solar Team Eindhoven's solar-powered cars for the

World Solar Challenge The World Solar Challenge (WSC), named the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge since 2013, is an international event for solar powered cars. The course is over 3,022 Kilometers (1,878 miles) through the Australian outback, from Darwin in ...

. Design work on the Lightyear 0 was carried out together with

Granstudio Granstudio is an international creative consultancy, headquartered in Turin, Italy. It was founded in 2011 by Lowie Vermeersch, a Flemish designer and the former design director at Pininfarina. As a design consultancy, the studio defines, design ...

in Italy.

Price and availability

Announced on 25 June 2019, production was scheduled to start in 2021, mentioning a starting price of excl. VAT. In September 2021, Lightyear were reported to have raised to bring the vehicle to production, and delivering the first units in 2022, for excl. VAT. The company announced in December 2022 that production had begun, at a rate of one car per week. Availability was limited to customers in the EU, Switzerland, Norway and the UK. However, in January 2023 Lightyear announced that it was halting production of the 0 model, redirecting their efforts towards production of Lightyear 2; Atlas Technologies B.V., the subsidiary responsible for the manufacture of the Lightyear 0, would be allowed to go bankrupt. , the replacement, '' Lightyear 2'', is slated to be and available in both Europe and North America, and to start production in 2025. Only about a dozen cars were made before production ended.

Gallery

File:Lightyear one Fully Charged Europe 2022 2.jpg, Front view File:Lightyear one Fully Charged Europe 2022 1.jpg, Front and side view File:Lightyear one Fully Charged Europe 2022 5.jpg, Wheel and aerocover File:Lightyear one Fully Charged Europe 2022 3.jpg, Interior view File:Lightyear one Fully Charged Europe 2022 7.jpg, Rear view

References

External links

* {{Insolvent EV companies Electric concept cars Solar-powered vehicles Cars introduced in 2019 Automotive industry in the Netherlands