Dutch solar car manufacturer Lightyear is making a restart. The restart is taking place via a completely new company, which owns Lightyear's intellectual property, among other things.
This was announced by trustee Reinoud van Oeijen. Lightyear announced the Lightyear 0 in 2016. This is an all-electric car, which has solar panels on its roof. Using these panels, it can charge vehicles while charging or in a car park. This without having to use a charging station.
Deferred payment
Parent company Lightyear applied for a moratorium on payments on 23 January. At that time, it already announced it was halting the development of its flagship Lightyear 0. The company wanted to focus entirely on the development of the Lightyear 2, which, like its big brother, features solar panels, but with a price tag of less than 40,000 euros, is a lot cheaper.
However, it did not turn out that far; on 27 January 2023, Lightyear's operating company - Atlas Technologies - was declared bankrupt. Atlas Technologies was focused on manufacturing the Lightyear One. Intellectual property was not at risk; it was vested in parent company Lightyear, which was not declared bankrupt.
Relaunch
Immediately after the bankruptcy, the receiver already announced it was investigating a restart. So this one is actually coming. The new company will take part of the inventory and some of the employees of the bankrupt Atlas Technologies. It is estimated that some 100 of Atlas Technologies' original 600 employees could work for the new company.
Lightyear Layer, a subsidiary focused on solar cell technology, will also fall under the new company.
Stocks and demo models auctioned off
Some of Lightyear's stock is going under the hammer. Demo models of the Lightyear 0 are also up for sale. With the proceeds from the auction, Lightyear aims to compensate creditors. A viewing day is scheduled for the auction on 19 April.
The new company should bring the Lightyear 2 to market within a few years. Lightyear is shifting its focus to another market with a relatively affordable solar car. The vehicle should cost less than 40,000 euros. This is a fraction of the price tag of the Lightyear 0, which was around 250,000 euros.
It is not known how many examples of the Lightyear 0 have actually been produced. Production started in Finland in November 2022. Lightyear intended to produce a total of 946 units of the solar car.
Wide range of investors
Lightyear attracted a lot of attention with its concept. Among others, Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg invested in the company. So did Invest-NL, the province of North Brabant, and the regional development companies for the provinces of North Brabant and Limburg (BOM and LIOF), as well as the investment funds SHV and DELA.
Leasing company LeasePlan announced in late December 2021 that it would reserve 5,000 units of Lightyear's second model. Earlier, the company also pledged to make the Lightyear One available on the European market.
Relaunch is not unexpected
Lightyear's relaunch is not unexpected. In February, it already emerged that the company had quickly raised eight million euros from private investors for its restart. However, the plan around this relaunch had yet to receive the green light from the receiver. Now that the receiver has given his approval, the way is clear for the restart.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Lightyear
