I've ordered the Sono Sion¹ electric car. It has solar cells (1200W max) that will charge the car during the day adding - on average - 10km range per day (34km max in the summer).<p>I only drive a few kilometers per week. If everything goes well I won't have to charge the car for months.<p>The Sion has a rather small battery so its range is only 250km or so. Enough for me, but that's something that a significant number of people are not yet comfortable with.<p>--<p>¹ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sono_Motors_Sion" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sono_Motors_Sion</a>
Hasn't the math already been done? There's just not enough sunlight exposure to get anywhere near the power requirements for a mid-sized vehicle.<p>You end up with tiny boxes on wheels covered in very expensive
and fragile panels that only work in perfectly bright and sunny days. Impacts, accidents, maintenance, and manufacturing externalities are all against this approach.
I can imagine solar panels being helpful if your car is parked in the sun during the day, allowing you to commute using the charge from that, but I struggle to see how this would help maximise the range. Wouldn't the 12km/h charging be inconsequential to a long car journey?
I'm honestly surprised Tesla etc aren't already doing this. I also feel that what we've seen with Tesla's struggles to bring cars to market, Lightyear would be better off partnering with an existing company rather than trying to launch their own vehicle.
A friend of mine owned an Audi from 2003 that had a solar-covered sun roof feeding into the AC. On sunny days it would at least exchange enough air while parking so turning on the AC for small trips was not necessary. Just brilliant!
Fully Charged just released a full 20 minute video about it:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbWwn_YCr8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSbWwn_YCr8</a>
This seems a little contradiction, I don't understand it:<p><i>The 4-wheel drive car is designed to go for long periods without cable charging. The battery alone has a range of 600-800 kilometers, depending on the usage. When it does need to be charged, the model’s energy efficiency makes it charge two or three times faster than any other electric car on the market. This means drivers can charge up to 400km overnight with an ordinary power socket</i><p>"without cable charging" but "can charge up to 400km with an ordinary power socket" :\