The EV manufacturer announced that it will be pausing production for the Lightyear 0 vehicle. The company is just three months in with the solar-powered car project, which will be sold for around $270,000 each upon release.
What Caused the Pause
Lightyear is currently undergoing a "strategic restructuring," and is putting its efforts into something else. The company will focus on making the Lightyear 2, which will cost below $40,000 and will start production in 2025, according to The Verge.
The company says that they are not taking the decision lightly, as it will impact anyone who worked on the Lightyear 0 project, which includes employees, investors, clients, suppliers, and the government. Although, it might affect Valmet Automotive the most.
The automotive company was contracted by Lightyear to build the solar-powered car. The halt in production might be reason enough for Valmet automotive to proceed with the potential layoffs, which were announced by the company itself.
The company already submitted a request to the court to suspend payment proceedings with Atlas Technologies B.V., the company responsible for producing the Lightyear 0. CEO Lex Hoefsloot said that developing Lightyear 0 gave the company "valuable learnings."
He also mentioned that they launched the waitlist for Lightyear 2 recently, wherein the company gained more than 40,000 subscriptions from individual customers, as well as around 20,000 pre-orders from fleet owners.
Lightyear believes that their decision was the best way to achieve their vision. They hope to conclude key investments in the coming weeks to scale up Lightyear 2, an affordable EV for a wider audience, as mentioned in the company's announcement.
The Lightyear Zero
The company had big dreams for the Lightyear 0 solar-powered vehicle. They claimed that the car can gain up to 70 kilometers of range per day just by charging it with the sun. They even went ahead and said that returning to your car after two hours, you'll have 20 km more in range.
They also claimed that you can charge your effortlessly, cleanly, and for free, which can result in 6,000 to 11,000 km of range in a year. Even as you plug it into a regular socket, the car can gain 300 km overnight, according to their website.
It has four independently controlled in-wheel motors, with 1,720 nm peak vehicle torque, 130 kW peak vehicle power, and 10.5 kWh/100 km energy use at highway speeds. It also has 5 m² double curved solar arrays, unlike standard EVs.
One of the company's goals with the car is to help reduce the emissions that contribute to climate change. Their website mentioned that the automotive industry is leading the cause, which is where their technology comes in.
There's also the issue of the increasing demand for EVs, and how the existing power grid cannot sustain the change putting us in an energy crisis. With solar panels, EVs can rely on the sun for power, making for a cleaner and more sustainable method of recharging.
