Lightyear reemerges as new slimmed down company, will continue developing its solar EV
Months after officially declaring bankruptcy but vowing to continue development of its mass-market solar EV, Lightyear has restarted its business as a new company with a significantly smaller team. In order to raise additional funds to continue its quest to bring affordable SEVs to the masses, Lightyear plans to auction off the few models of the Lightyear 0 that were originally built.
In the exciting by recently ill-fated segment of solar EVs, Netherlands-based startup Lightyear has been one of the most exciting to follow. Its original concept evolved into the Lightyear 0, which actually reached production for a fleeting moment in late 2022, as the company began to tease its second, more affordable model – the Lightyear 2.
Mere weeks after given a select group (including yours truly) a sneak peak of the 2 at CES in January, Lightyear suddenly declared bankruptcy relinquishing its business to a Dutch legal and tax firm. The sun appeared to had unfortunately set on the solar EV startup, who was previously touting some of the most impressive in-house technology in the segment, falling just short of delivering one of the most aerodynamic passenger vehicles ever made.
In February, however, a ray of hope shined through the dark clouds over Lightyear HQ as it vowed to restructure into a new company and continue its work. The startup stated that Individual Investors Group (IIG) let by initiator Arnoud Aalbersberg, was helping facilitate a relaunch by raising enough funding to act as a base for the new company, raising 8 million euros in a single day.
While Lightyear is by no means out of the woods yet, it has officially been reborn and will continue its fight to bring the Lightyear 2 solar EV to production. Here’s the latest.
Lightyear to auction of 0 SEVs to pay its creditors
According to a press release from the startup today, it has achieved a restructuring plan that has satisfied all parties in involved, relaunching as an entirely new company called Lightyear Technologies. Following the initial bankruptcy declaration in January, Lightyear’s parent company, Atlas Technologies Holding followed suit today – a necessary step to allow for Lightyear to be reborn as the new entity.
Through the restructuring, the startup’s IP and a separate solar panel division will become part of Lightyear Technologies, combining for a team of just about 100 employees – significantly smaller than the 600 on staff in the company’s first iteration. CEO and cofounder Lex Hoefsloot spoke to the rebirth:
I am very happy that we managed to complete the restructuring, which we believe is in the interest of the sustainable success of Lightyear, taking into account the interests of its stakeholders. The whole team and many of our stakeholders have worked hard to make this possible. I would like to explicitly thank all of them.
The new company was made possible by some Lightyear’s largest investors, including SHV, DELA, Eikenbosch Holding, Invest-NL, BOM, and LIOF in addition to IIG mentioned above. The goal now is to continue to limit damage done to creditors that led to the bankruptcy filing.
With the successful restructuring and a new round of funding, Lightyear states it can once again trek forward with a focus on the aforementioned Lightyear 2 solar EV, but it will need to raise additional funding to succeed.
In the meantime, bankruptcy administrator Reinoud van Oeijen said some of the company’s stocks will be sold in the near future and will include the sale of the few Lightyear 0 demo vehicles that were built. Later this month, there will be a special online auction to raise money to pay back the creditors. It will be preceded by a viewing day on April 19, when interested parties can come and see the solar EVs in person. Van Oeijen spoke:
We have tried to represent the interests of employees from the Netherlands and abroad as well as possible. At the same time, we also tried to limit the damage to the creditors as much as possible. This way, there was a chance of a restart.
It was a complex issue we were facing with many stakeholders. Fortunately, the restart has been achieved within a reasonable short period of time and everyone now has clarity.
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Slate Auto, a new EV startup backed by Jeff Bezos, has poached a key Tesla manufacturing leader to build its electric pickup truck factory in Indiana.
Napoleon Reyes is a US Marine from Indiana who got a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue after leaving the force.
He then worked a few years at Subaru and Wabash before joining Tesla’s manufacturing team at the Fremont Factory in 2020.
There, he became part of the Model Y production ramp and was quickly promoted to lead the Model Y General Assembly in Fremont in 2022.
Reyes led Model Y GA, one of the most critical parts of vehicle manufacturing, for more than a year before being promoted again to lead new pilot processes at the factory.
Most recently, he led the launch of the general assembly line for the Model Y refresh.
The new engineering manager announced this week that he is leaving Tesla to join Slate:
A bit late on the post but after nearly 5 years working at Tesla in Fremont, I made the difficult decision to leave the Company and move closer to home with my family. It was an incredible experience being part of multiple line expansions and multiple Model Y program launches. Leading and managing the Model Y Refresh launch for GA in Fremont this year tested me professionally however we ultimately succeeded due to our amazing cross functional team collaboration. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with such great people, and I will forever be proud and thankful for everything we accomplished together.
I will be taking on a new role as Senior Manager, Plant Vehicle Engineering at Slate Auto in Warsaw, In.
Slate emerged from stealth mode earlier this year to unveil a new type of electric pickup truck featuring modular customization and an affordable price.
The company raised over $700 million through two rounds of investments from several different investors, including Jeff Bezos. It is currently raising more, which basically guarantees that it will be able to reach production.
The startup acquired a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana. It is currently converting to manufacture its electric pickup with a team from legacy automakers and also several former engineers and leaders from Tesla.
Rich Schmidt, an early Tesla manufacturing director, is the head of manufacturing.
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Genesis is preparing to shake things up with its most luxurious SUV yet, the GV90. Thanks to a new patent filing, we are getting a detailed look at how its Rolls-Royce-style coach doors will work.
New patent reveals Genesis GV90 coach door system
When Genesis first unveiled the full-size SUV at the NY Auto Show last March, it wasn’t the stunning design or advanced tech that caught everyone’s attention. It was the coach doors.
Although we were worried it wouldn’t make it to the production model, like many concepts, the Genesis GV90 will be offered with coach doors.
The ultra-luxe electric SUV was first caught with coach doors earlier this year on a car carrier in South Korea. Just last month, the GV90 was spotted in California with a hinge at the rear to open the coach doors.
After several new patents were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for new door latching devices, we are getting a sneak peek at how they are expected to work.
The patents, titled “Cinching Device For Door Latches in Vehicle,” and “Door Latch Device for Vehicles,” give a pretty detailed explanation of how the Genesis GV90’s coach doors will operate. The “Door Latch Device” uses a door striker on the lower side of the door, which is opened or closed by a hinge unit.
Unlike traditional doors, which use the B-pillar for support, the device is attached directly to the door itself, allowing for hinge-like movement.
The cinching device works in a similar way. It’s also attached to the door and part of the vehicle. However, unlike most of its kind, Genesis found a way to use a single cinching device to control multiple units. Again, the device is used for B-pillarless doors that swing open.
Genesis already said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles. The patent reveals a glimpse into how the luxury automaker could make it a reality.
Although the Genesis GV90 is expected to be offered with coach doors, they will likely not be standard. Other variants, with traditional door handles, have also been spotted testing in the US and South Korea.
Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. It will be built at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant in South Korea. The flagship Genesis SUV is scheduled to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform, which the company said will “provide 50% improvement in driving range.” It will also be loaded with the latest technology, software, connectivity, and Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities.
Source: USPTO
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Environment
Podcast: Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, 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 the launch of the Tesla Model YL, more Tesla probes and lawsuits, new Nissan Leaf pricing, 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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