Helmond-based company Lightyear is going to ask the government to exclude solar-powered cars from the high additional tax rate to be introduced from 2019. The company itself is busy developing such a car.
For electric cars, the additional tax rate is currently 4 per cent. But from 2019, more expensive cars (above 50,000 euros0 in that category will be subject to an additional tax rate of 22 per cent. Lightyear wants to prevent solar-powered cars from falling under that same rate. In the Netherlands, every driver of a company or lease car has to pay an additional tax rate. Depending on the vehicle in question, a certain percentage of the vehicle's catalogue value is added to the employee's income."
"In 2019 and 2020, the 4 per cent rate still applies to the first 50,000 euros, with 22 per cent levied on the part above that. From 2021, 22 per cent will be charged on the full amount," explains Lightyear's Maijke Receveur in the Eindhovens Dagblad. That means quite a difference soon, and it makes quite a difference. For a €120,000 electric car, you now pay €160 in additional taxes per month. In two years, it will be 880 euros.
Exception
Lightyear therefore plans to plead with the government to put the solar car in a separate category, or define it separately in law. "At the high additional tax rate, an exception is made for hydrogen-powered cars because they have zero grams of CO2 emissions per kilometre. That also applies to the Lightyear One."
The car the company is going to market has been named Lightyear One. The price is no mean feat: 119,000 euros. Its development is on schedule, according to Receveur, with the factory for production at the Automotive Campus in Helmond being completed in September. There are already 28 buyers, 12 of whom have paid the full purchase price. That while the first prototype of the Lightyear One has yet to roll off the production line.
Competition
The looming, high additional tax, incidentally, does not seem to be the only challenge for the Helmond-based company, according to the daily. In particular, it points to competition. As we wrote earlier on Maakindustrie, two young Germans are also working on a solar-powered family car (based on the Renault Twingo). This car is a lot cheaper than the Lightyear One, although its appearance will not make car enthusiasts' hearts beat as much as the Dutch-made one. Sonomotors' so-called Sion will be launched in 2019 and has a starting price of 16,000 euros (without battery). More than 7,000 have already been ordered.
Lightyear is not so afraid of competition from its eastern neighbours, Receveur tells Eindhovens Dagblad: "Sion serves a different market. It is an existing car on solar cells. A city car that can drive up to thirty kilometres a day on solar energy. We are much more sustainable with a car that can cover virtually unlimited distances on solar energy. You can use our car anywhere, even if there is no infrastructure of charging stations. This is only possible because we have redesigned and optimised the whole car," says Receveur. "And the price will be lower in the long run. Lightyear One is so expensive now because we have to build up a brand name. With the second model, that price will be significantly lower."
Source: Eindhovens Dagblad
Photo: Lightyear
