{"id":39622,"date":"2023-01-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=39622"},"modified":"2023-01-05T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T14:00:00","slug":"lightyear-2-waitlist-goes-live-500-mile-range-solar-ev-priced-below-40k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=39622","title":{"rendered":"Lightyear 2 waitlist goes live, 500+ mile range solar EV priced below $40K for US customers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Less than a month after kicking off production of its flagship solar EV the 0, Lightyear has begun teasing images of its second, much more affordable model, the Lightyear 2. Following an announcement this morning, Lightyear<\/a> has opened up its waitlist to pre-order the Lightyear 2, which will be sold in the US, UK, and Europe. It promises to deliver over 500 miles of range on a single charge with the help of our Sun and start at an MSRP below $40,000.<\/p>\n

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Lightyear is a Dutch solar EV company that we\u2019ve been following for several years, due in part to its bold promises of extended range vehicles with sleek designs, but also at affordable pricing. The startup had long promised to deliver its Lightyear 0 to market, a solar electric sedan that inevitably arrived as the most aerodynamic production car ever made<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We got a chance it take the Lightyear 0 for a spin<\/a> this past summer and were quite impressed with its design both inside and out. Lightyear began production of 946 planned units this past December at Valmet Automotive in Finland, forever solidifying its place in history<\/a> as the first to bring a solar EV to market.<\/p>\n

Although much of the public\u2019s eye has been on the Lightyear 0 for the past four years, the company has been working behind the scenes to deliver its second model, the Lightyear 2. While its predecessor is a marvel to both the eyes and the spec sheet, it starts at an MSRP of $250,000 and has remained out of reach for most average and perhaps more affluent consumers.<\/p>\n

Lightyear has been quite cognizant of this high price point and has urged fans of the company to \u201chold on.\u201d As an encore to the Lightyear 0, the startup has been promising to deliver the Lightyear 2 in 2025, targeted around $30,000. Flush with new funding<\/a> this past September, Lightyear relayed that it remained on track to deliver a consumer-friendly solar EV. Now that Lightyear 0 production is underway, it has turned its focus in bringing such a dream vehicle to reality.<\/p>\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking. Shaving over $200,000 off a vehicle design feels impossible, and in my multiple interactions with Lightyear co-founder and CEO Lex Hoefsloot this past year, I continued to pepper him with questions about the Lightyear 2 and its extremely alluring affordability, curious how they\u2019ll be able to pull it off. Here\u2019s what he told me in Finland this past December:<\/p>\n

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I think people will be amazed actually, by what is possible in high volume, because of course, the question we get the most, for good reason is \u201chow the hell guys, do you get it from 250K (euros) to 30K?\u201d What people underestimate about Lightyear 0 is that we focused so much on picking the technologies that are fundamentally scalable. That\u2019s also puzzling to people why we can do it, but we\u2019re really confident we can get to that price point.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Following today\u2019s news, the Lightyear 2 should arrive at a bit higher price than originally promised, but if and when it joins the Lightyear 0 on roads, it has the makings to be a slam dunk in value. Check out some of the first images shared this morning.<\/p>\n

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