Waitlist opens for $40,000 Lightyear 2 photo voltaic automotive due in 2025
Lightyear has opened a waitlist for its second solar-assisted EV mannequin, which goals for a cheaper price level and one thing a lot nearer to mass-market attraction.
Straightforwardly referred to as Lightyear 2, this new mannequin is scheduled to start out manufacturing by the top of 2025 with a base value of roughly $40,000, based on a Lightyear press launch. The corporate confirmed that the U.S. might be among the many first markets, together with the UK and European Union.
Waitlist introduced for Lightyear 2 photo voltaic automotive due in 2025.
The waitlist is free to hitch, and people on the record will get precedence as soon as retail pre-orders open, based on Lightyear. Retail clients might need to get in line behind industrial fleets, nevertheless. Lightyear mentioned it already has 21,000 pre-orders from leasing and ride-share clients LeasePlan, MyWheels, Arval, and Athlon.
Lightyear revealed plans for the Lightyear 2 in late 2021, and emphasised that it’s going to have a smaller battery pack than the $170,000 Lightyear 0, however the follow-up mannequin seems to take the identical method by aiming to “leapfrog the grid” with built-in photo voltaic panels and lowering the reliance on high-power fast-charging. The corporate claims the Lightyear 2 can have a real-world vary of about 500 miles.
Waitlist introduced for Lightyear 2 photo voltaic automotive due in 2025.
The Lightyear 0 is being constructed by Finland’s Valmet, the contract producer that constructed the Fisker Karma and Assume Metropolis, amongst different autos, and is slated to construct one other EV that depends closely on solar energy—the Sono Sion hatchback. The agency hasn’t but confirmed who will construct the Lightyear 2.
Additionally but to be confirmed is whether or not the Lightyear 2 will use in-wheel motors just like the 0, which Lightyear claims has probably the most environment friendly manufacturing powertrain proper now. With the Lordstown Endurance and upcoming Aptera, the Lightyear 0 is a part of a rising contingent of car makers utilizing in-wheel motors.
