Lightyear 0, we hardly knew you Lightyear has made the decision to cease production light year 0 Solar EV and instead focus all resources on its more affordable offer. With Lightyear already in production, Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear, says the company is diverting all of its energies to Lightyear 2 instead.
It’s been disappointing news since light year 0The self-sufficient design really put the solar EV company on the map. It appears to be the right move from Lightyear, however, as the company only planned to make fewer than 1,000 units of the solar EV, which starts at more than $250,000. Instead, it seems like a more business-minded decision for the EV novice to focus on the more accessible Lightyear 2, which is expected to start at under $40,000.
Overwhelming Demand – Lightyear made the decision after opening the Lightyear 2 waitlist CES 2023. According to Hoefsloot, the Lightyear 2 waitlist saw more than 40,000 sign-ups from individual customers. These customers on the waiting list topped the approximately 20,000 pre-orders that came from fleet owners.
With so much demand for the Lightyear 2, it makes sense that the automaker decided to ditch the Lightyear 0. It’s a shame for everyone who pre-ordered the Lightyear 0 as they are expected to ship to European customers in summer 2020 this year.
Nevertheless, we can look forward to the Lightyear 2. The cheaper solar EV, while not self-powered, will cover 500 miles on a single charge, made possible by the car’s roof-top solar panels. The impressive range is also a result of the Lightyear design, which achieves a drag coefficient of 0.175 for the Lightyear 2.
Prioritizing affordability – Previously, the production for the light year 2 The market launch was expected for the end of 2025. Now that Lightyear is focusing all of its efforts on its affordable model, chances are we’ll see the Lightyear 2 even sooner. Hoefsloot says in the press release that Lightyear is targeting some key investments in the coming weeks that would bring Lightyear 2 to customers in a timely manner.
As for the Lightyear 0, there’s no indication if the company plans to restart production for it. Lightyear has previously rebranded Lightyear 0 as it was previously known as Lightyear One, so we can always see a revived iteration in the future. Lightyear is also fairly new to the EV market, so it’s far too early to say what’s in store for us after the Lightyear 2.
