Electric cars are indeed sustainable. Electric cars are indeed quieter. But electric cars have limited travel limits when compared to a gasoline -powered car. The lack of charging stations has begun to be felt by electric car users in Malaysia even though their number is still small.
The Lightyear 0 was unveiled yesterday as an electric car that does not require any conventional charging. With 5 square meters of solar panels on the surface of the body, the manufacturer of the Lightyear 0 claims it is enough to supply travel power of up to 70 kilometers a day. This is the full production model of the Lightyear One EV shown in 2019.
High performance is achieved because the Lightyear 0 is among the most aerodynamic cars ever produced to reduce air resistance. It directly replaces the side mirrors with a camera with an LCD screen placed in the cockpit instead.
The 60 kWh battery has been tested to provide an operating range of up to 625 km on a single charge using the WLTP standard with an average speed of 110 km/h. This vehicle is not performance-conscious and therefore can only move at a maximum speed of 160 km/h and requires 10 seconds to accelerate from 0-100 km/h. By charging using a plug at home, the owner can get 32 km for every hour it is charged.
The new company will only offer 946 Lightyear 0 to customers with each one sold for € 250,000 (~ RM 1.16 million). Prices are much more expensive than those offered by Tesla or Porsche for their electric cars. But this is the premium to be paid for a car that can be charged using solar while in the parking lot.