Cars have definitely evolved over the years. The machine has become such a big part in man’s life. People rely on them to go from one place to the next.
Now, the world’s first solar car is here. One that doesn’t rely on the conventional means of power. The company has begun producing a 4-5 passenger EV and this is a new chapter in automotive history.
The Dutch company called Lightyear has officially and finally began the assembly of its first solar vehicle they call “Lightyear 0.” They are becoming the first automotive firm to manufacture an electric vehicle that generates a decent amount of charge with the use of sunlight.
The company is making full use of its body space by using the 5-curved solar arrays that totals to almost 53 square feet. The Lightyear 0 (formerly called the Lightyear One) charges and the best part of it all, it is able to charge itself in the absence of daylight, whether it is parked in a garage or on it is on the road.
Lightyear said that this latest model can give as much as 40 miles of free range each day coming just from the sun (totaling to 70 km). They said, “with an infinite power source like that on its roof, Lightyear 0 can drive for months without charging.”
As for its non-solar charging capabilities, this can be done simply by plugging the vehicle into the usual home socket. By doing this, you can get more than 186 miles (300 kilometers) of range overnight.
“After six years of developing its own technologies, Lightyear has surpassed one of the most challenging phases for new automotive companies: entering the market with novel technology,” the company said in a statement.
The firm is located at the Valmet Automotive facility in Finland. This isn’t the only plan in the pipeline. In fact, they want to start production of one of the cars every week and each one is priced at around $255,000 (£216,000). They also see that they will be scaling up production in the first quarter of 2023 to help the city-drivers who can afford decarbonize.
If in the next 10 to 20 years solar panels may be the greater producers of energy. This means that electric vehicles would finally rise above the usual comment that just because a car uses electricity instead of fossil fuels, this doesn’t mean that it’s any better for the environment since electricity usually comes from fossil fuels.
“We have hit many milestones in recent years, from major funding achievements to great partnerships,” said Lex Hoefsloot. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear. “However, today is the most significant, and probably the most challenging, milestone we have reached so far,” he added.
“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,” he also said.
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