Investors queue up for Dutch solar car Lightyear One

According to Lightyear, the counter stands at 93 million euros over the first nine months of 2021. The Dutch multinational SHV - known for Nutreco, Makro and Mammoet, among others - is investing 20 million euros in the startup. Insurer Dela also pulls the wallet. It is not known how much money is involved in the investment. Dela says she has the same goal in mind as Lightyear: a sustainable future.

Lightyear One once started as a student project

The Lightyear One started years ago as a student project in Helmond. If all goes well, the solar car will be on the market in the summer of 2022 (which is handy with all those solar panels). It is not built in the Netherlands, but in Finland, at Valmet. That company also assembled the Porsche Boxster, Mercedes SLK and Saab convertible models in the past.

Range of 700 kilometers on German test track

Lightyear recently reached an important milestone with a prototype of the Lightyear One. On a test track in Germany, it drove 710 kilometers on one battery charge. Impressive, especially because of the not overly large battery pack of 60 kWh. Almost all existing electric cars can suck a point there.

However, with this fantastic range we have to make a caveat. The car drove for nine hours at an average speed of 85 km/h. We are more curious about the range at 100 and 130 km/h. After all, those are the circumstances under which you want to use a large EV. Incidentally, Lightyear itself wants to realize a WLTP range of 722 kilometers. The solar panels in the roof must make an important contribution to this.

Starting price Lightyear One is at Tesla Model S level

Valmet will build a first series of prototypes in January 2022. In total, more than 900 cars have to come off the production line in Finland. The Dutch Tesla competitor is not going to be cheap: the expected starting price is 119,000 euros. Not surprising when you consider that the body is largely made of light, but expensive carbon fiber. But there is hope: Lightyear also wants to produce smaller and more affordable electric cars in the near future.