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Lightyear (Atlas Technologies) Is Officially Bankrupt, and Lightyear 2 May Go Extinct Too

Lightyear was at the 2023 CES and presented a prototype of the Lightyear 2 there. The company also had the Lightyear 0 at the event, and everything seemed bright until it announced it would stop production of the world’s first solar car. The company’s request for a suspension of payments proceeding was approved, which means it is officially bankrupt.
Lightyear 2 may never see the daylight after Atlas Technologies B.V. was declared bankrupt 13 photos
Photo: Lightyear
Lightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 0 production starts in FinlandLightyear 2 already has a waitlist, but some things have changedLightyear 2 already has a waitlist, but some things have changedLightyear 2 already has a waitlist, but some things have changedLightyear 2 already has a waitlist, but some things have changedLightyear 2 already has a waitlist, but some things have changed
To be precise, Atlas Technologies B.V. is the company that is currently under administration. It was responsible for the Lightyear 0 production. The Dutch startup comprises two more enterprises: Atlas Technologies Holding B.V., which holds the intellectual property (IP) rights, and Lightyear Layer B.V., whose role was not disclosed. As optimistic as anyone may want to be, it seems that Atlas Technologies B.V. was the most crucial of all three companies.

Lightyear disclosed that the Rechtbank Oost-Brabant (Court of East Brabant) from ´s-Hertogenbosch (yes, that’s the name of the city) granted the suspension of payments. The Dutch court also appointed Reinoud van Oeijen, from Holla legal & tax, as the trustee. Lightyear stated he “will focus on the position of the employees and creditors as well as assessing how the Lightyear concept can be continued.” At this point, perhaps the right question is not “how” but rather “if.”

It is not clear yet how many financial issues the production division of Lightyear had. Above all, we need to learn how many orders for the Lightyear 0 the company had, how many people paid for their cars entirely (if anyone), and how the company established that the right price to ask was €250,000 ($271,725 at the current exchange rate).

Was that enough to cover the production expenses? Couldn’t the car have a lower price and more units? After all, Lightyear would make 946 units of the vehicle as a tribute to a light-year – equivalent to .9.46 trillion kilometers. What if it had committed to produce 9,460 cars at a lower price? Or 946,000, even if it never reached that number?

Anyone willing to pay €250,000 for a vehicle is not concerned with electricity costs. Someone disbursing €100,000 or €50,000 for a car may be. The appeal the Lightyear 0 had was energy efficiency and the incredible range it could offer with a relatively small battery pack: 710 kilometers (440 miles) with a 60-kWh battery pack and a full charge.

How many units of the Lightyear 0 were made before production ended? Will we ever see one of those units on the streets? Without those answers, it is quite premature to talk about the Lightyear 2, a vehicle that will only achieve the price target the company established for it with mass production. If the Dutch startup does not have more news to share soon, the chances that all its plans may die with Atlas Technologies B.V. are, unfortunately, pretty high.
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About the author: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
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Motoring writer since 1998, Gustavo wants to write relevant stories about cars and their shift to a sustainable future.
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