Lightyear 0 “photo voltaic automotive” enters manufacturing, guarantees over 300 miles of vary

It was in 2019 that Dutch EV startup Lightyear first revealed an idea for a modern hatchback with in-wheel motors and photo voltaic panels spanning the hood and roof. On Wednesday, manufacturing lastly received underway at a plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

The brand new EV is known as the Lightyear 0, and its manufacturing is being dealt with by Valmet, the contract producer that at one time constructed the Fisker Karma extended-range EV. Valmet can also be contracted to construct the Sono Sion, one other EV that options photo voltaic panels.

The 0 can also be an extended-range EV, in a method. There’s roughly 53 sq. toes of photo voltaic panels lining the hood and roof, and with enough entry to daylight they’ll cost at a price of 1.05 kw, or sufficient so as to add 6.2 miles of vary in an hour, based on Lightyear.

It signifies that with a full cost of the battery, a 0 as a commuter automotive might doubtlessly drive for months while not having charging, relying on the size of the commute and entry to daylight.

The 0 encompasses a 61.2-kwh battery which the corporate claims will ship a variety of 388 miles on the WLTP check cycle used outdoors the U.S. This could nonetheless lead to near 300 miles on the stricter cycle utilized by the EPA.

The important thing to such excessive vary with such a small battery is effectivity. Along with having a drag coefficient of simply 0.175 Cd, which is a document for a manufacturing automotive, the 0 options environment friendly motors, inverters, and tires. The automotive has a claimed effectivity price of 10.5 kwh per 62 miles, which approaches the effectivity of the Mercedes-Benz Imaginative and prescient EQXX idea automotive that used 8.7 kwh per 62 miles throughout a current real-world check.

Going with in-wheel motors meant Lightyear might save weight and area by eliminating issues like transmissions and driveshafts. The automotive weighs roughly 3,472 kilos, which is comparatively gentle for a five-seat EV, and it rides on specifically designed skinny tires developed by Bridgestone.

The Lightyear 0 is at present out there solely in Europe the place it begins at 250,000 euros (roughly $262,100). Lightyear hasn’t mentioned whether or not the 0 will probably be out there within the U.S.

“Beginning manufacturing of the Lightyear 0, the primary photo voltaic automotive, brings us an enormous step nearer to our mission of fresh mobility for everybody, in every single place,” Lex Hoefsloot, Lightyear’s CEO and co-founder, mentioned in an announcement.

Not everybody will have the ability to afford an EV costing six figures, however Lightyear is already working a mannequin the corporate says may have an inexpensive worth. Will probably be referred to as the Lightyear 2, and is anticipated to reach in 2025.