OREANDA-NEWS. The Dutch startup Lightyear, which develops electric vehicles with integrated solar panels, plans to start selling the Lightyear One electric car in the first quarter of 2022. The commercialization of the project will be possible thanks to an investment of $62 million from the DELA Insurance Corporation.

The company promises that the Lightyear One, equipped with a battery with a capacity of 60 kWh, will be able to travel up to 725 km on a single charge — during the last tests, the electric car almost achieved the declared indicator, having overcome 710 km with an average speed of 85 km / h.

An electric car with built-in solar panels will enter the premium segment — its preliminary cost will be $170 thousand.

The company plans to launch mass production of the Lightyear One in the second quarter of 2022. It is planned to sell 100 cars in the first year.

It is reported that the startup will use the production facilities of the Valmet Automotive plant in Finland — an agreement with the Finnish company was reached in the summer of 2021.

In addition to Lightyear, a group of students from the Technical University of Eindhoven called Solar Team Eindhoven is developing vehicles with integrated solar panels — the Netherlands is the undisputed pioneer of this technology. In September 2021, the team presented the project of a Stella Vita residential van with expandable solar panels on the roof. This mobile home does not depend on charging stations, since it itself completely generates the energy necessary for moving around, watching TV, making coffee and other household chores.