The photo is sourced from lightyear.one
The main feature of Lightyear 0 is utilisation of solar panels with total area 5 sq m, embedded into the roof. The electric car equipped with batteries can be charged from both solar energy and conventional wall outlet: overnight charging is enough to run 300 km. Power reserve for driving on a highway at 110 km/h speed is 560 km (at full charge). Concurrently Lightyear 0 can reach maximum speed of 160 km/h, accelerating to 100 km/h in 10 seconds. Due to relatively high road clearance (183 mm), the auto may be used not only in urban setting but also in country.
Despite rather high cost of Lightyear 0 (250000 euros) the company has managed to sell 150 vehicles even before leaving the assembly line. The buyers are attracted by lesser dependence from electric charging stations, if to compare with a conventional electric car. The same advantage is given to the buyers of Lightyear 2, the price of which will be ‘only’ 30000 euros. The company has already received preorder for shipment of 10000 of these autos for car sharing and leasing platforms MyWheels and LeasePlan.
Successful commercialisation of Lightyear 0 and Lightyear 2 will contribute to the boom of electric cars. According to data of the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global fleet of electric vehicles with batteries between 2017 and 2021 will grow from 1.9 mln to 11 mln units, and the fleet of chargeable “hybrids” – from 1.2 mln to 5.2 mln units. The industry leader is China with a share in 2021 of 56% of electric cars with batteries fleet and of 31% of hybrids.
