Lightyear is a spin-off of team Eindhoven, a group of students form the Netherlands that produced solar powered race cars
This money came from a major insurance company and an art collector
The Lightyear One electric sedan should reach buyers in 2022
Lightyear is a company based in the Netherlands that was formed by members of team Eindhoven, a group of engineering students that participated in the World Solar Challenge with their solar powered race cars.
Due to a partnership with Cooperation DELA, one of the largest international insurers in the Netherlands and the help of an art collector, Lightyear has raised $110 million to use for development and production of solar powered vehicles.
The company announced its first model, the One, in 2019 and the recent funding milestone that was achieved leads the company to believe it could produce the first units of the One in 2022.
The Lightyear One will be an electric sedan equipped with solar panels in its roof and rear window.
These panels will help the car achieve a range of 450 miles (725 kilometers) according to the sometimes-optimistic WLTP cycle.
The car will be an exclusive product destined to allow for Lightyear to develop other solar powered vehicles aimed at the mass market.
Indeed, the company announced a base price of around $170,000 for the One, which would make it more expensive than just about all of its competitors.
No information has been given about the intended markets for the vehicle, so we don’t know if it will be sold in North America yet.
