Lightyear secures €81 million capital to advance its solar EV plans
Netherlands-based solar electric car company Lightyear has announced a total investment of €81 million from key investors including Invest-NL, the the National Promotional Institution (NPI) of the Netherlands.
The company claims that the fresh capital will advance the production of 'Lightyear 0' - the Lightyear's first and premier solar electric car - set to hit roads this year. Further, the development of its mass-market follow-up model 'Lightyear 2' is also on the cards.
"Lightyear has been making consistent progress since its founding and holds a promising future for the development of an innovative solar eco-system in the Netherlands," says Rinke Zonneveld, CEO at Invest-NL.
He added, "Their technology, strategic partnerships and acumen fit perfectly with Invest-NL's ambition to co-create new tech-driven market and business opportunities, and we look forward to supporting their growth from Dutch scale-up to global OEM".
Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear, said, "In the current market environment, our technology has incredible potential for positive societal influence, so I see investments of this caliber as a testament to Lightyear's product vision".
"Thanks to the support of Invest-NL, the entire consortium, and our other investors and strategic partners, Lightyear is well positioned and remains on track to deliver the world's first solar car and work towards a more sustainable future", he added.
Earlier in In June this year, Lightyear launched its production-intent vehicle 'Lightyear 0', which can be dubbed as the world's first solar car in commercial sense. It is slated for production this fall.
Concurrently, Lightyear has been developing 'Lightyear 2' as a high-volume model, with a starting price of €30,000. The car is expected to go into production by 2025, and currently has 10,000 reservations from leasing and car sharing companies LeasePlan and MyWheels, the company claims.
Over the last couple of years, the company had announced partnerships with many companies in the auto sector including LeasePlan, Valmet Automotive, Bridgestone, MyWheels, and NXP, not to mention the popular mega-car manufacturer Koenigsegg.
