Lightyear, the company introducing the solar-powered EV the Lightyear 0, has acquired €81 million in investment to aid production and development costs.
Lightyear is a Dutch startup that gained prominence for its Lightyear 0, an ultra-premium solar car with a claimed range of 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) or 625 kilometers WLTP range (388 miles). With a recent investment from InvestNL of 81 million euros ($80,240,220), they hope to move to production with the Lightyear 0 and continue to develop the Lightyear 2, the company’s foray into affordable electric vehicles.
Credit: Lightyear
Lightyear has already attracted investment from Bridgestone Tires, Koenigsegg, and Leaseplan. Still, as the company continues to move toward production, this added investment allows the company to “[remain] on track to deliver the world’s first solar car and work towards a more sustainable future,” according to Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and Co-Founder.
For InvestNL, the opportunity to invest was a no-brainer. Rinke Zonneveld, CEO of InvestNL, stated the company “has been making consistent progress since its founding and holds a promising future for the development of an innovative solar ecosystem in the Netherlands.” But with the ever-increasing competition in the EV space, especially in Europe, the company will need to deliver sooner rather than later.
While the Lightyear 0 has a starting price of over $250,000 (€252,296.25), the Lightyear 2 has a goal MSRP of €30,000 ($29,725.65), according to the company’s press release. It is unclear if either vehicle will be available for U.S. sale.
At the same time, the company may face competition to introduce the world’s first production solar EV, and their match doesn’t have an unobtainium price tag. Aptera’s Gamma, expected to enter production by the end of the year, has a starting price undercutting even the Lightyear 2’s and will also be available in the US. And similarly, Aptera has been successful in acquiring investment to work towards production. It remains unclear and exciting which automaker will be first to production and delivery.
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