Lightyear Halts Production of Flagship Solar-Powered EV to Focus on More Affordable Model

January 24, 2023 By Aaem Joshi

(Image Credit Google)

Dutch electric vehicle maker, Lightyear, has put a hold on production of its flagship model, the Lightyear 0, in order to focus on a more cost-effective alternative. The Lightyear 0, a premium electric vehicle with a price tag of €250,000, has only been in production for three months before the company decided to redirect its efforts towards the Lightyear 2. This new model, priced at around €40,000, is set to be a five-seater hatchback with a projected range of 500 miles per charge. This decision comes at a time when several other electric vehicle manufacturers are delaying production and delivery dates due to a variety of macroeconomic factors such as shortages in semiconductors, battery supply issues, and rising material costs as a result of inflation. With the threat of a recession looming and EV start-ups struggling to get vehicles off the assembly line, investing in an exorbitantly priced model may not be a wise business move. The Lightyear 0 was originally intended to be a limited-edition technology demonstrator. The company has not disclosed the specific challenges it faced in bringing the vehicle to market, but did state that in order to safeguard its vision, the Lightyear 0 had to be discontinued to pave the way for the Lightyear 2. The company's CEO and co-founder, Lex Hoefsloot, said in a statement, “We are now redirecting all our energy towards building Lightyear 2 in order to make it available to clients on schedule.” Lightyear ev

The Lightyear 2 was unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, where the company opened a waitlist for the model. Although details on the vehicle are scarce, Lightyear has already received over 40,000 reservations from individual buyers and 20,000 pre-orders from fleet owners such as international leasing and car-sharing companies. The Lightyear 2 is planned to go into mass-market production at the end of 2025. It's not clear if the company will adjust this date now that production of the Lightyear 0 has been halted, as 150 units of the latter had already been pre-sold. Also Read: Students made solar-powered electric car sets new world record The company has not commented on whether or not they will honor the pre-sales of the Lightyear 0. However, it has submitted a request to the court for suspension of payment proceedings in relation to the company responsible for the production of the Lightyear 0, Atlas Technologies B.V. As per the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, companies can request for their debts to be frozen for 18 months, giving them time to reorganize. Lightyear is also expected to try and raise more funds in the coming weeks to scale up production of the Lightyear 2 for a wider audience.

By Aaem Joshi

I am a Journalist who loves digging up stories that remain unheard. Strongly Believe in the knowledge of the social world.

Lightyear Halts Production of Flagship Solar-Powered EV to Focus on More Affordable Model

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