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The Dutch company Lightyear is stopping making solar cars for the time being. Yet the start-up had ambitious plans for cars powered entirely by solar energy. Lightyear will now focus on making solar panels for other car brands.

With the energy transition, automakers are increasingly looking for other ways to market environmentally friendly cars. Lightyear had wanted to spark a revolution with affordable solar-powered cars, but the market turned out not to be ready (yet).

Reconstruction: a dream shattered.

  • "The Dutch answer to Tesla," was how Lightyear's very first production model LY 0 was described just last year. The car could run entirely on solar energy thanks to curved solar panels.
  • But the cost price of the car was very high, leaving subsidiary Atlas Technologies in dire straits. Lightyear then saw no other option than to declare Atlas Technologies bankrupt.
  • Investors then found 8 million euros to allow the carmaker, in much slimmed-down form, to restart.
  • The company pulled out all the stops to still produce the successor to LY 0, the Lightyear 2. With a lower price, this model should have been ready by 2025. It did not come to that: that deadline proved unachievable and fresh capital was not found.

From solar cars to solar roofs

The sequel: Lightyear is now going to develop solar roofs for other cars.

  • Against Het Financieele Dagblad CEO Lex Hoefsloot explains where the company still sees a future: "We are going to use our resources for the solar panel side. That's where we see growing interest."
  • Automakers Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen already developed models with a solar roof. Lightyear is in talks with several companies to supply similar solar panels. Hoefsloot did not yet want to give further details.
  • The company is also beginning a downsizing exercise. A large number of its 90 employees would have to leave. Yet Hoefsloot believes the manufacturer is still financially sound.
  • The CEO also refuses to completely put away the solar car dream. He remains in talks with Korea's Sunbo, which would be willing to still spend 3.5 million euros on the production of the Lightyear 2 model.

(evb)

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