Simply weeks after asserting a cheaper EV mannequin, it appears to be like just like the enterprise of constructing photo voltaic automobiles proved an excessive amount of for Lightyear and its manufacturing firm, Atlas Applied sciences. The Dutch firm just lately filed paperwork for chapter with a courtroom in Netherlands, Autoblog stories.
Lightyear hit the world stage in 2019 with a quarter-million-dollar, five-door liftback solar-charging Lightyear 1. A manufacturing model quickly adopted known as Lightyear 0 that price €119,000 or about $141,000 in American {dollars}. The 0 featured over a thousand small photo voltaic panels on its exterior that might catch the solar’s vitality to cost the automobile’s 60 kWh battery. Manufacturing of the 0 was finally outsourced to a Finnish firm after receiving an order for 946 items, and in November it was constructing only one automobile per week. That quantity was supposed to leap to 5 automobiles per week by mid-2023.
One other, cheaper Lightyear mannequin was debuted at CES in January. The Lightyear 2 had a claimed vary of 500 miles and a beginning value of simply $45,000, with manufacturing aimed to being in 2025. However with the chapter announcement, the two’s future seems up within the air.
The firm’s future may additionally be up within the air — Lightyear issued a assertion apologizing to these affected by the transfer.
Lightyear regrets having to make this announcement for all staff, prospects, traders and suppliers and can work carefully with the curator and all of the people who find themselves concerned and hope for his or her understanding and help. Within the coming interval the trustee will deal with the place of the workers and collectors in addition to assessing how the Lightyear idea might be continued.
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Despite the sudden bankruptcy announcement, Lightyear could still have a future on the roads. Lightyear’s holding company, Atlas Technologies Holding B.V. (not Atlas Technologies, which is the production company), is not part of the bankruptcy. It owns the intellectual property of Lightyear vehicles. So, if it can find a backer with appropriately deep pockets, the cars may still find their way to the roads under the sun, someday.