Dutch solar-powered EV developer Lightyear has signed a pre-order for 10,000 vehicles with BNP Paribas subsidiary Arval, a European vehicle leasing company. The pre-order is for the Lightyear 2, a mass-market model. The two companies will also collaborate on market development and promotion of the mass market solar powered EV.

The collaboration with Arval provides Lightyear with a mobility partner for both corporate clients and consumers in European markets.

Lightyear now has pre-orders for the Lightyear 2 of 21,000 units, which the company says corresponds to a projected revenue of nearly €840 million. The company opened the Lightyear 2 waitlist to consumers in the first week of January.

Both Arval and Lightyear have mutual ambitions towards sustainable mobility. The partnership between the two firms aims to support Lightyear’s entry not only into the European market with customer experience events in 2023/24, but also on an international level.

Lightyear 2 is designed to provide consumers with a clean mobility solution. The car has a solar roof and hood enabling it to double its range to more than 800 kilometres per charge. The company says it has overall three times less charging than a conventional electric vehicle. The car is priced at below €40,000.

Lightyear says it has proved the viability of a solar electric vehicle by producing its first model, Lightyear 0, in limited production numbers. Lightyear 2 is intended as a mass market vehicle incorporating the same technology.

“Lightyear’s technology is proven, affordable, and environmentally friendly, making a great addition to our fleet,” said Alain van Groenendael, Chairman and CEO of Arval. “Our ambition is to lease 700,000 electrified vehicles as part of our global fleet by 2025, and we look forward to welcoming 10,000 Lightyear 2 cars, that help us to reach that goal and more importantly, further support our customers with an optimal solution that answers their energy transition needs and the infrastructure challenge in Europe.”

Lex Hoefsloot, Lightyear CEO and Co-Founder, said: “Next to offering our solar electric cars to individual consumers, Arval plays a crucial role as a leasing company in making our technologies available for as many people as possible. We are grateful for their trust and being able to have their expertise and international footprint to roll out Lightyear 2.”

Arval UK Managing Director, Lakshmi Moorthy, said: “This solar powered electric vehicle comes to the UK market at the right time, when our customers have already adopted around 30,000 electric vehicles. Its range extending technology and affordable price will further accelerate the shift to sustainable mobility for fleets and individuals alike.”