Photo: Lightyear
One of the main problems with the Lightyear One is that it will cost €150,000 ($162,180 at the current exchange rate). That will make its 946 units even rarer than this number already suggested. After announcing LeasePlan would have 5,000 units of its second car, Lightyear disclosed a similar partnership with MyWheels. The goal is to make solar cars popular.
According to the deal, MyWheels will have 5,000 units of the Lightyear Two, the first high-volume vehicle the company intends to sell. Curiously, even the Lightyear One will be included among MyWheels’ offerings. Unfortunately, the Dutch carmaker did not reveal how many would be available.
It only said that the car-sharing company is working on “a sharing campaign for loyal members to be able to drive a Lightyear One as early as 2023.” Production will begin at Valmet Automotive in late summer this year, and the first deliveries should happen by the end of 2022.
Lightyear said that the idea is to make its solar cars “accessible to the broader public.” Although the car-sharing model can make that happen, it also tends to have little effect on sales: people who adhere to sharing a car generally do not intend to buy one, just to use them every once in a while in a simplified and cheaper car-renting model.
For LeasePlan and MyWheels, the proposition is very convenient. The Lightyear vehicles will harvest sunlight and convert it to electricity, making it cheaper to recharge. The aerodynamic profile and efficiency concern also make these EVs very frugal in energy consumption. Finally, Lightyear believes that in-wheel motors and a lot fewer moving parts will make maintenance cheaper, which will benefit the companies using these vehicles in leasing or car-sharing services.
Although the international health crisis seems to be easing thanks to vaccines and masks, the car-sharing model has shown that getting inside a car that someone else had recently used was not the best idea. Solutions in which the vehicle can be cleaned before anyone else uses it, such as renting and leasing, are safer and more convenient in the sense that people can use the cars as if they belonged to them.
Despite that, having more Lightyear Two and One units in the hands of more people should help the Dutch carmaker demonstrate that energy efficiency and solar generation can be good ideas for personal transportation. Too bad that we’ll only see the Lightyear Two in 2025.
It only said that the car-sharing company is working on “a sharing campaign for loyal members to be able to drive a Lightyear One as early as 2023.” Production will begin at Valmet Automotive in late summer this year, and the first deliveries should happen by the end of 2022.
Lightyear said that the idea is to make its solar cars “accessible to the broader public.” Although the car-sharing model can make that happen, it also tends to have little effect on sales: people who adhere to sharing a car generally do not intend to buy one, just to use them every once in a while in a simplified and cheaper car-renting model.
For LeasePlan and MyWheels, the proposition is very convenient. The Lightyear vehicles will harvest sunlight and convert it to electricity, making it cheaper to recharge. The aerodynamic profile and efficiency concern also make these EVs very frugal in energy consumption. Finally, Lightyear believes that in-wheel motors and a lot fewer moving parts will make maintenance cheaper, which will benefit the companies using these vehicles in leasing or car-sharing services.
Although the international health crisis seems to be easing thanks to vaccines and masks, the car-sharing model has shown that getting inside a car that someone else had recently used was not the best idea. Solutions in which the vehicle can be cleaned before anyone else uses it, such as renting and leasing, are safer and more convenient in the sense that people can use the cars as if they belonged to them.
Despite that, having more Lightyear Two and One units in the hands of more people should help the Dutch carmaker demonstrate that energy efficiency and solar generation can be good ideas for personal transportation. Too bad that we’ll only see the Lightyear Two in 2025.
Google News