News JVTech It’s a surprise, here is the first cheap solar electric car!
Published on 07/01/2023 at 17:20
When you think of a solar car, it’s obviously the Lightyear 0 that comes to mind. Except that the electric car costs $300,000. A completely prohibitive price that does not allow it to be sold to the general public. But Lightyear is back with a new cheap model.
The waiting list is open for the cheap solar electric car
CES 2023 in Las Vegas is the golden opportunity to present the new prototype of the Lightyear 2. A much more affordable model than the excessive Lightyear 0 to 300,000 dollars. This is how the waiting list is open to everyone to be able to pre-order the electric car of the future.
If you’re not familiar with Lightyear, it’s the first manufacturer to create a true electric car powered by solar electricity. This is optimized to provide the largest possible solar panel area on the roof, rear windscreen and front bonnet. A total surface of 5 square meters which offers up to 70 km of additional autonomy, thanks to 782 monocrystalline cells. The only flaw it has is its completely prohibitive price.
But now Lightyear is going mainstream. The company has two affordable solutions. The first is to upgrade your roof to a solar version. Lightyear actually offers a service that converts some electric cars to solar power to add a few miles of range.
The second economical solution is this new vehicle Lightyear 2 which will thus be offered at 40,000 dollars.
The cheap solar electric car, but not at the discount
The automaker’s first car is just a hint of the possibilities. The second affordable version will be the real model for everyone.
Lightyear 0’s research and development will serve as the springboard to make Lightyear 2 an extremely efficient and capable car for all lifestyles.
It should inherit all the great innovations of the Lightyear 0. The solar panels will be improved if another technology and especially the conversion between the panels and the battery are the essential optimization. A lot of energy is lost without this step, rendering all the previous prototype useless.
The Lightyear 0 should also have an addition of 70km in good conditions. We can therefore imagine not recharging it for several months in summer if you are doing 50 km a day. For the rest of the Lightyear characteristics do not comment. They are in the final phase of design right in the moment of decision-making.
She should still be able to reach 800 km of total autonomy. This is partly due to increased aerodynamic efficiency compared to most cars. The goal is to get the maximum number of kilometers with an ever-smaller battery.
As for the release date, Lightyear talks of a start of production for 2025. If we are to believe the 6 years of development of the Lightyear 0, it is a rather reliable car manufacturer within the announced dates.
