Lightyear zeroes out 0 production to focus on more affordable Lightyear 2 solar EV, following encouraging wait list registrations
Less than two months after its official start of production, Lightyear has suddenly suspended all assembly of its flagship 0 solar EV. Instead, the Dutch company says it will shift all focus and resources on the development and production of its second model – the Lightyear 2. This comes as a bit of a shock and begs the question whether Lightyear will have the funds to get its second solar EV model into scaled production.
It’s been a long and (mostly) encouraging road for Lightyear up to this point, as the Netherlands-based startup, which started as a student solar vehicle competition, has been developing some of the more impressive in-house vehicle technology we’ve come across recently.
That began with the Lightyear 0, the company’s long-promised solar EV expected to be a genuine trailblazer in an unproven segment, seemingly destined to prove what was possible beyond traditional battery electric vehicles.
After driving the 0 prototype last summer, we were more confident than ever that Lightyear was onto something special. Not only by experiencing the Lightyear 0 from behind the wheel, but by discussing all the solar and EV tech with the teams that developed and implemented it.
Last November, we were present in Finland for the official start of Lightyear 0 production, forever solidifying the company name as the first to reach the market. However, that title may come with an asterisk as Lightyear announced a complete suspension of the solar EV’s production to instead focus on its second model.
Lightyear to refocus on 2 production, but can it get there?
Lightyear just posted a press release, announcing its revised business strategy, offering less than informative explanations hidden behind vague phrases like “overcoming challenges.” Due to these “challenges,” the Lightyear team explains that it will suspend all production of the 0 to focus entirely on the Lightyear 2.
This also includes a request to the court to suspend all incoming payments for its flagship model, sure to disappoint the near 1,000 customers who were expecting to receive delivery of not only the world’s first solar EV to reach the European market, but the most aerodynamic production vehicle in the world. Lightyear’s cofounder and CEO Lex Hoefsloot spoke:
Unfortunately we had to make this decision. The whole process of developing Lightyear 0 has provided our company many valuable learnings over the past years. We are now redirecting all our energy towards building Lightyear 2 in order to make it available to clients on schedule.
Its clear in getting to know the Lightyear team and in reading this release, that this decision was by no means taken lightly, and those who worked for years to get this solar electric baby onto an assembly line are likely reeling a lot more from this decision than any reservation holder, but it’s not encouraging news from a startup that has now taken a big step back from scaled SEV production.
With this decision, Lightyear is putting all of its solar powered eggs into one basket in the form of a $40,000 model with up to 500 miles of range called the Lightyear 2. Although the company has only teased brief images of the solar EV so far, the demand is quickly growing.
Lightyear’s wait list (not even pre-orders) opened on January 5 to customers in the US and Europe and has already surpassed 40,000 individual names, complimented by another 20,000 pre-orders from fleet customers. Hoefsloot elaborated:
We hope to conclude some key investments in the coming weeks in order to scale up to Lightyear 2, an affordable solar electric vehicle available for a wider audience.
A silver lining no doubt, but as Lightyear’s CEO alludes to above, the startup will need some serious investment money to succeed in its second attempt to scale toward viable solar EV production.
It’s currently unclear what Lightyear plans to do with the few 0 solar EVs that have been produced since Q4 of last year, or whether any of them have been delivered to customers. If so, the Lightyear 0 could end up being an even more exclusive collector’s vehicle that it would have been when Lightyear was still planning to build only 946 of them. We’ve asked the company for clarification.
We are sure to learn more about how Lightyear intends to scale its second attempt at a solar EV in the coming weeks and months, especially if it is in fact honing in on some “key investments.”
Electrek’s Take
This news comes as a shocker for me personally and judging by the timing of this, I’d surmise that there were several employees within Lightyear HQ that were blindsided by this news as well.
On a positive note, the appetite for the Lightyear 2 has already been tremendous, and most people have not even seen the full reveal (some lucky souls may have already seen it in person, though (*wink*).
For that reason, I can understand the shift of focus by Lightyear. You have a sleek, efficient, and most importantly, an affordable solar EV on your hands. It’s also donning much of the technology from the Lightyear 0, but some has even been perfected in some spots. It has the makings of a home run on paper, but will it make it into production?
What scares me is the sudden shift here, especially from a startup whose original strategy was to sell 946 of the 250,000 euro Lightyear 0 to help fund development and production of the 2. How do you fund the solar EV that is sure to sell more volume, but at a much lower MSRP? And how is Lightyear going to afford to scale to that level of production to support the high demand for such a vehicle?
A major production/contract manufacturing partner (or even two) feels almost imperative in this situation, so that’s some news I would keep keep an eye out for going forward. Perhaps even production in the EU and the US? All things I’m sure Lightyear is considering already.
I would think… I would hope, the Lightyear team has some very encouraging financial discussions going on behind closed doors to elicit such a bold and potentially lethal shift in its strategy. Still a fan of the company and its technology, so I’m absolutely rooting for them and the Lightyear 2 (of course I’m on the wait list). However, my confidence in the company’s future took a major hit today.
Between Sono Motors, Aptera, and now Lightyear, the future of solar EV mobility is being challenged. Let’s hope for the Earth’s sake that all three overcome their respective hurdles and succeed.
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Kia’s electric SUVs are taking over. The EV3 is the best-selling retail EV in the UK this year, giving Kia its strongest sales start since it arrived 34 years ago. And it’s not just in the UK. Kia just had its best first quarter globally since it started selling cars in 1962.
Kia EV3 is the best-selling EV in the UK through March
In March, Kia sold a record nearly 20,000 vehicles in the UK, making it the fourth best-selling brand. It was also the second top-seller of electrified vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs), accounting for over 55% of sales.
The EV3 remained the best-selling retail EV in the UK last month. Including the EV6, three-row EV9, and Niro EV, electric vehicles represented 21% of Kia’s UK sales in March.
Kia said the EV3 “started with a bang” in January, darting out as the UK’s most popular EV in retail sales. Through March, Kia’s electric SUV has held on to the crown. With the EV3 rolling out, Kia sold over 7,000 electric cars through March, nearly 50% more than in Q1 2024.
The EV3 was the best-selling retail EV in the UK in the first quarter and the fourth best-selling EV overall, including commercial vehicles.
Starting at £33,005 ($42,500), Kia said it’s the “brand’s most affordable EV yet.” It’s available with two battery packs, 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, good for 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles) of WLTP range, respectively.
With new EVs on the way, this could be just the start. Kia is launching several new EVs in the UK this year, including the EV4 sedan (and hatchback) and EV5 SUV. It also confirmed that the first PV5 electric vans will be delivered to customers by the end of the year.
Electrek’s Take
Globally, Kia sold a record 772,351 vehicles in the first quarter, its best since it started selling cars in 1962. With the new EV4, the brand’s first electric sedan and hatchback, launching this year, Kia looks to build on its momentum in 2025.
Kia has also made it very clear that it wants to be a global leader in the electric van market with its new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, starting with the PV5 later this year.
Earlier today, we learned Kia’s midsize electric SUV, the EV5, is the fourth best-selling EV in Australia through March, outselling every BYD vehicle (at least for now). The EV5 is rolling out to new markets this year, including Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Mexico. However, it will not arrive in the US.
For those in the US, there are still a few Kia EVs to look forward to. Kia is launching the EV4 globally, including in the US, later this year. Although no date has been set, Kia confirmed the EV3 is also coming. It’s expected to arrive in mid-2026.
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Environment
Podcast: Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s disastrous deliveries, more Trump tariffs, EV delivery numbers, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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Charging your EV in freezing weather could soon become dramatically faster, thanks to a big breakthrough from the University of Michigan engineers.
Neil Dasgupta, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering and corresponding author of a study published in Joule, and his team have developed an innovative battery structure and coating that can boost lithium-ion EV battery charging speeds by a whopping 500%, even at frigid temperatures as low as 14F (-10C). “Charging an EV battery takes 30 to 40 minutes even for aggressive fast charging, and that time increases to over an hour in the winter,” Dasgupta explained. “This is the pain point we want to address.”
Freezing weather has traditionally been harsh on EV batteries because it slows down the movement of lithium ions, resulting in slower charging speeds and reduced battery life. Automakers have tried thickening battery electrodes to extend driving range, but this makes some of the lithium hard to access, making charging even slower.
Previously, Dasgupta’s group sped up battery charging using lasers to carve pathways around 40 microns in size into the graphite anode. This allowed lithium ions to reach deeper into the battery more quickly. However, cold-weather performance still lagged because a chemical layer formed on the electrodes, blocking the ions. Dasgupta compares this barrier to “trying to cut cold butter,” making charging inefficient.
To solve this, the team coated the battery with a thin, glassy material made of lithium borate-carbonate—only 20 nanometers thick—which prevented the problematic chemical layer from forming. Combined with the microscopic channels, the results were groundbreaking: the modified batteries retained 97% of their capacity even after 100 fast-charging cycles in freezing temperatures.
“We envision this approach as something that EV battery manufacturers could adopt without major changes to existing factories,” Dasgupta noted. “For the first time, we’ve shown a pathway to simultaneously achieve extreme fast charging at low temperatures, without sacrificing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery.”
This innovation could tackle one of the biggest concerns holding potential EV buyers back.
The new battery tech is moving closer to commercialization, supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub. The research devices were built at U-M’s Battery Lab and studied with help from the Michigan Center for Materials Characterization.
U-M Innovation Partnerships assisted the team in applying for patents, and Arbor Battery Innovations has licensed the technology for market deployment. Dasgupta and the University of Michigan hold financial stakes in Arbor Battery Innovations.
Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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