Arval pre-orders 10,000 solar-powered electric cars

Lightyear – the Dutch high-tech company producing the world’s first solar-powered electric car, Lightyear 0, – has signed a pre-order agreement with Arval Group, Europe’s #1 full service multibrand vehicle leasing company, and key player in sustainable mobility solutions owned by the BNP Paribas Group. 

The pre-order entails 10,000 units of Lightyear 2, Lightyear’s accessible mass-market model. With that, the company has a new go-to mobility partner for corporate clients and consumers to experience solar-electric mobility in Arval’s key markets in Europe. The grand total of Lightyear 2 pre-orders from B2B partners now exceeds 21,000 units, corresponding to a revenue of nearly €840 million. This news comes one week after Lightyear has opened the Lightyear 2 waitlist for consumers to get priority in the pre-order process later this year.

A partnership based on shared values

Both Arval and Lightyear have mutual ambitions towards sustainable mobility, with a partnership that 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's technology is proven, affordable, and environmentally friendly, making a great addition to our fleet,” says 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.”

Clean mobility for everyone

Lex Hoefsloot, Lightyear CEO and Co-Founder, says: “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, added: “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.”

Lightyear 2 promises to address the consumers’ need for convenient clean mobility solutions, with a solar roof and hood enabling the car to double its range to more than 800 km per charge and overall three times less charging than a conventional electric vehicle, all of this at a price point of below €40,000. After Lightyear has proven the viability of a solar electric vehicle by producing its first model, Lightyear 0, in limited production numbers, Lightyear 2 is the company’s next step towards making clean mobility available for everyone, everywhere.