Lightyear is halting production of its electric vehicles for the time being. Unable to find new investors, the company is focusing on developing solar roofs for car manufacturers in the coming period.
This reports the FD. Lightyear is a Dutch company that has been in existence since 2016. The Brabant-based company was founded by alumni of Solar Team Eindhoven. The company wanted to launch its own solar car. This is the Lightyear 0, an electric-powered vehicle that can generate its own energy using solar panels embedded in the roof. In this way, the vehicle obtains much of the energy it needs to drive, without having to hook up to a charging station to do so.
Financial problems
It was not to come this far, however; early this year Lightyear was found to be in financial trouble. Parent company Lightyear filed for a moratorium on 23 January, after which operating company Atlas Technologies was declared bankrupt at the end of January. Atlas Technologies was in charge of building electric vehicles for Lightyear.
Following this bankruptcy, options were explored for Lightyear to restart production. The company hoped to continue production of the Lightyear 2, the second model Lightyear developed. The model was to be considerably less expensive than the Lightyear 0, the first solar car Lightyear launched.
No new investors found
However, co-founder and top executive Lex Hoefsloot reports to the FD that it has failed to find new investors. "The automotive sector is showing increasing interest in electricity from solar cells. This is also due to pressure from the EU to electrify the automotive sector. But solar energy thinking is still at an early stage. And in the current capital market, it is not easy to raise money," says Hoefsloot.
It seems, therefore, that we won't have to expect the Lightyear 2 anytime soon. However, that does not mean the curtain has completely fallen on the model; Hoefsloot says it is in talks with partners to still be able to bring it to market in the long run. For this, it is holding talks with South Korean Sunbo, among others.
Lightyear Layer
For now, however, Lightyear will focus entirely on producing solar panels for car roofs, which it supplies to other car manufacturers. The company does this through Lightyear Layer, which is based in Venray.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photo: Lightyear
