After his bankruptcy, Lightyear sells € 20,000 for the prototype of his solar sedan at € 250,000

This bad news for electromobility comes after that concerning the French start-up hopium. The French manufacturer of electric cars with fuel cell announced layoffs following the loss of 9.5 million euros in the first half of 202222. Hopium is looking for funds (around 200 million over the next three years) in order to be able to launch the production of the Machina, a luxury sedan of 500 horses and a range of 1,000 km. The first hopium was expected from 2025 (source The world)).

The Lightyear solar car in turmoil

The Lightyear solar car is in turmoil following the insolvency of Atlas Technologies, the production company. After the Lightyear 0 stop, the future of Lightyear 2 remains uncertain.

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In September 2022, we drawn, about the Lightyear solar car, “The mass production of the Lightyear solar car will really see the day ? » Five months later, this question remains topical.

First warning on January 24. Dutch start-up Lightyear announced the Lightyear 0 series production stopping, the first solar car. Made under contract – at the rate of a single unit per week – by the Finnish Valmet Automotive, the Lightyear 0 exists only on one copy. The company does not specify how the ex-clients will be treated who have already paid the € 250,000 when the Lightyear 0 costs.

During this announcement, the start-up had also mentioned its request from a Dutch court to suspend payments in Atlas Technologies, the operating company responsible for the production of Lightyear 0. This is a subsidiary of the parent company Atlas Technologies Holding, official owner of the Lightyear intellectual property rights.

The company explains that “This decision was not taken lightly, because it has an impact on all those who have embarked on this trip with us. This is of course our own employees, who work day after day to make solar mobility a reality, alongside our investors, customers, suppliers and the government.»

Second warnings on January 27 with the insolvency of the Atlas Technologies subsidiary pronounced by a Dutch court which appointed a court administrator. He will have the heavy task of examining “How the Lightyear concept can be prosecuted”.

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Lightyear delivered a press release in which the start-up “Regrets having to make this announcement for all employees, customers, investors and suppliers and will work closely with the curator and all the people involved and hopes their understanding and support”.

The Electrive site reports the ambient pessimism of certain Lightyear employees, on the LinkedIn professional network, who are already preparing for the closure of their start-up.

Although not fully developed, the Lightyear 2, estimated at € 40,000, has already received no less than 21,000 orders from fleet companies. We can cite the 10,000 reservations of the rental company Arval and the 5,000 of the Leasing Leaseplan company. To this are added the 40,000 pre -order pre -orders. This second Lightyear, carried out jointly with Koenigsegg, Swedish manufacturer specializing in hypersports, is not expected before 2024-2025.

This bad news for electromobility comes after that concerning the French start-up hopium. The French manufacturer of electric cars with fuel cell announced layoffs following the loss of 9.5 million euros in the first half of 202222. Hopium is looking for funds (around 200 million over the next three years) in order to be able to launch the production of the Machina, a luxury sedan of 500 horses and a range of 1,000 km. The first hopium was expected from 2025 (source The world)).

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After his bankruptcy, Lightyear sells € 20,000 for the prototype of his solar sedan at € 250,000

This is the end of the road for Lighyear. After announcing its bankruptcy, the company now sells its prototypes of model 0 as well as its furniture auction.

Four months ago, we visit behind the scenes of the production of the Lightyear 0, this Dutch electric sedan which draws its energy from a lithium-ion battery partially supplied by 5 meters of solar panels. A visit which had been absolutely exciting, but which had left David, our special envoy, quite skeptical on many aspects and mainly on the viability of a model displayed at the price of € 250,000, but with a quality perceived more than questionable. Less than a month later, the cleaver falls: the production of the 0 stops to focus on the 2 announced at € 40,000 and the company is declared bankruptcy.

And it will not be obviously by a Faraday Future soap opera with endless twists and turns: Lightyear is indeed deceased and the best proof is the appearance on Troostwijkauctions, a local online sales platform, not only offices, screens of ‘computer, conference tables or company chairs, but also several prototypes at various construction stages.

The Dutch Lightyear will soon deliver its first cars which roll to solar energy

The Dutch start-up Lightyear has just started production of its first vehicle, which is a model of 100% electric efficiency, with advanced aerodynamics and the possibility of recovering about 70 km of autonomy per day only thanks to. But at 250.000 euros, this car is rather a demonstrator, to lower costs and launch a much more affordable model in 2025.

This is a crucial step in its young story that Lightyear has just started. This start-up founded in 2016 in the Netherlands has just started the production of the first solar electric car. The expected suite of the prototype presented in 2019 and which already gave the main lines of the project.

The alliance between a start-up and a historic actor

A record time of development, some investors and a pandemic later, we find one of the founders of the company, Lex Hoefsloot, this November 30, 2022 in the factory of a subcontractor in Finland. The director general of Lightyear arrives on a scene installed in a former storage warehouse transformed into a assembly chain, where just starting the production of the Lightyear 0.

“Anyone can make a prototype, even rolling. But, passing these steps to lead to a production chain is the death valley for innovation. Especially when you want to offer a car centered and dedicated to solar technology, the risks are even greater, “said the young co -founder of Lightyear, who won a student competition in Australia 10 years earlier with the University of Eindhoven and A car already covered with solar panels.

For this first model model, the choice finally fell on the factory of a Finnish automotive subcontractor, Valmet Automotive, in the city of Uusikaupunki, 3 hours away from Helsinki. A relatively unknown actor, but who will be able to bring his experience of almost 50 years in automotive assembly for brands like Porsche or Mercedes. Class A of the star brand is currently emerging from the factory, which has also produced a certain Fisker Karma, the first rechargeable hybrid trial of Henrik Fisker.

Valmet recently approached the Chinese giant of the Catl batteries and started production of batteries intended in part at the automotive. Important clarification, moreover, if they would be “made in Europe”, assured us Lex Hoefsloot, Lightyear does not yet specify the origin of its batteries and if there would be a link with this partnership of its subcontractor.

The assembly chain is rather a large manufacturing workshop, with almost caricatured elements for a company that fully claims to want to “save the world”, or at least prevent it from sinking into climatic hell, with its cars “eco-responsible”. In an immaculate white environment, now classic now in modern factories, green plants are around large posters evoking nature with slogans promising “a future zero program”.

From a car-prototype to a real large series model

First objective: to produce a LIGHTYER 0 per week, before going up a little more in cadence. But at 250.000 euros per unit, this vehicle must above all be seen as a demonstrator of the technologies that the start-up can offer. With the ambition to offer a Lightyear 2 (the prototype of the 0 had already taken the “one” figure), from 30.000 euros in 2025. A big gap that can make one think of the initial project of Elon Musk at Tesla, for whom success with high -end models, Model S and Model X, should allow us to offer a much more affordable vehicle: the Model 3.

“The Lightyear 2 will be a family car, not a city car, the main car of a home with potentially an interest in markets where there is a lack of charging infrastructure,” said Lex Hoefsloot.

Main technological feat of Lightyear, these solar panels which cover a total surface of 5 square meters, from the rear to the front of the vehicle. Enough to recover 20 kilometers of autonomy by remaining parked two hours and up to 70 kilometers per day.

“Depending on the climate, you can recover between 6000 and 11.000 kilometers of free autonomy, effortless and clean each year, “sums up the start-up.

In addition to this source of energy from the sky, Lightyear also wishes to make his vehicle a model of efficiency, which also explains its very high cost. For once, it is not (only) because of the battery: it only has a capacity of 60 kWh, relatively limited for a large road. But this saves weight and therefore in a way of autonomy.

Lightyear engineers also sought to gain the slightest gram, adopting a carbon structure and an aluminum frame. In the end, the weight of 1.575 tonnes remains low enough for a vehicle in this template.

Even daylight lights are not covered with a window. “We had to make a choice between the loss of aerodynamics and the addition of an element that would add weight,” explains Patrick Creevey, product manager and who worked before for Jaguar Land Rover. It still remains amazed by the time of design of the vehicle compared to what is traditionally done in the automobile.

Efficiency, more than performance

Aerodynamics is also another essential stone of the Lightyear building. With a CX, the air penetration index, from 0.1775, a record in automotive production. Finally, the 0 can count on four wheeled engines, connected to a battery management system by making one of the most efficient vehicles on the roads, with loss of limited energy.

The performances are then voluntarily not impressive, with a 0 to 100 km/h for example carried out in 10 seconds, i.e. 4 more than the least efficient model 3. But at the key a record consumption: Lightyear evokes an incredible 10.5 kWh per 100 km at a stabilized speed of 100 km/h. Enough to consider driving more than 600 km on a single load, the sun can also bring an excess energy during the rolling phases.

There remains the question of more classic recharge, without necessarily counting on the sun’s rays. If the latter can bring 10 km of autonomy per hour, not enough to count on it for a long journey. Fortunately, we can connect the 0, but here again we remain on a certain moderation, with a maximum of 50 kW of charging power, or about an hour for an almost complete load.

Again, a certain opposite to the current escalation in this area. Tesla offers for example a power five times higher, 250 kW, on its last V3 superchargers.

Lightyear’s promise of a truly ecological car seems in any case to hit the bull’s eye, with 150 reservations which will now have to be honored by the start-up transformed into a neo-industry. What also quickly garner experience and production volumes allowing it to offer its Lightyear 2, or the future solar car for all.