LeasePlan is reserving 5,000 units of Lightyear's second model, which is expected to go into production in 2024/2025. Earlier, LeasePlan also pledged to make the Lightyear One, Lightyear's first model car, available to European customers.
Lightyear is a Dutch company focused on producing solar cars. The company previously presented the Lightyear One. Special features of this vehicle include the roof, which integrates solar panels. This allows the vehicle to charge while driving, which, among other things, increases its range. However, the vehicle can also be charged via a fast charger or a regular power outlet.
Partnership
The partnership with LeasePlan was announced by Lightyear CEO Lex Hoefsloot and CFO Laurens Weers during a keynote and Q&A session. The session included the presentation of the strategic roadmap and product vision for making sustainable mobility available.
The second electric vehicle model Lightyear will launch is a further development of the Lightyear One. The vehicle should be marketed for a significantly lower price tag than the Lightyear One. Whereas Lightyear's first model costs around €150,000, the second model is to cost around €30,000. This will make Lightyear's vehicles accessible to a significantly wider audience.
Transition to clean vehicles
Lex Hoefsloot, founder and CEO at Lightyear: "LeasePlan has been a strong partner of ours since 2018. Today's announcement is proof of their belief in our vision to make sustainable mobility available to all. LeasePlan is leading the transition to clean vehicles that are less dependent on charging infrastructure, which also avoids large investments in charging infrastructure. We are working together to bring a unique vehicle to market that is truly sustainable."
Tex Gunning, CEO at LeasePlan: "LeasePlan and Lightyear are together leading the way by offering the world's first subscription solar-powered car models. With Lightyear, range anxiety, where drivers fear the limited range of electric vehicles, is a thing of the past, as is having to find an available charging point. This is a huge breakthrough in eliminating emissions from road transport. We look forward to joining forces with Lightyear and introducing motorists to the cleanest, most innovative electric vehicles ever.
Production in Finland
The Lightyear One will be produced in Finland, Lightyear announced in July. The company has partnered with Finnish company Vamet Automotive for this purpose. Production should start next year. Valmet's facilities include its own battery production line. Production of the first series of Lighyear One cars should roll off the production line from January. In total, this first production run consists of 946 units.
Lightyear also entered into a partnership with chip manufacturer NXP Semiconductors in November. Technology from NXP is present in the battery management system, user interface, control unit and solar inverters, among others. Lightyear's second model also uses technology from NXP, the company announced at the announcement.
In addition, Lightyear and NXP Semiconductors are joining forces in the COMPAS project, which is part of the European ITEA3 grant programme. This project aims to develop digital twins to achieve real-time digital display of Lightyear's vehicles. Among other things, the COMPAS project should help Lightyear test the lifetime of its electronic systems already during the design phase. This reduces the development time and the number of iterations required, accelerating time-to-market.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
