Dutch startup Lightyear pre-sells 10,000 solar electric cars for company leases

The Helmond-based solar car manufacturer Lightyear received an order for 10,000 cars from leasing company Arval. That brings the total number of orders for the startup’s second model, the Lightyear 2, to 21,000 cars, NOS reports.

Lightyear makes cars with solar panels on the roof, so drivers can go longer between stopping at the charging station. Production on the Lightyear 2 will start in 2025.

The first version of the solar car, Lightyear 0, cost over 250,000 euros each. The company produced fewer than a thousand of these vehicles.

With the Lightyear 2, the Dutch startup aims for a lower price and a larger market. The company aims to produce 200,000 Lightyear 2 cars per year from 2026, with a price tag of less than 40,000 euros.

Car-sharing platform MyWheels also ordered thousands of cars from Lightyear.