Recently, Dutch scaleup Lightyear has collaborated with LeasePlan Nederland to develop an electric solar car for consumers. With this move, the LeasePlan will become Lightyear’s leasing partner for the ‘Lightyear One’, the first car produced by the company. Notably, the Pioneer Edition of Lightyear One is expected to go on Dutch roads around 2020.
Furthermore, Lightyear will be opening its production facility at the Automotive Campus in Helmond, the Netherlands this week. It’s worth mentioning that, the Lightyear One is the first electric car with integrated solar cells capable of driving 8,000 to 10,000 kilometres per year on solar energy in the Netherlands.
While the design and build remain a secret till now, it is known that it is a five-seater hatchback with all-wheel drive, with a range of up to 800 kilometres. Moreover, the company is working with 100 employees in ties with engineering firms FEV and EDAG to launch the first prototypes in the summer of 2019. The expected lease price will start from €1949 per month, while the details on prices and options will be announced later,
LeasePlan and Lightyear are both in pioneering roles in the field of sustainable mobility and have ambitions to accelerate the transition to clean mobility.
Erik Henstra, Managing Director of LeasePlan Netherlands, said:
Lightyear shows that it is possible to drive electrically on solar power. As a leasing partner, we want to offer our customers the opportunity to make a powerful sustainability statement by driving the world’s first solar car for consumers. This cooperation also contributes to our ambition to completely eliminate emissions from our own fleet in 2021 and our total fleet of 1.8 million cars in 2030.
Lex Hoefsloot, CEO of Lightyear, said:
With LeasePlan, we have a strong partner on board that strengthens us with a solid network in the Netherlands and Europe. Corporate drivers play an important pioneering role in the introduction of new technologies. We’ve seen that before with the electric car. This partnership with LeasePlan will certainly help us as we move towards the broad launch of the Lightyear One in 2021.
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