Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, February 3 (Xinhua)-- Lightyear, a Dutch start-up that has been trying to put solar electric cars into production for the past six years, has asked a Dutch court for permission to stop paying Atlas Technologies BV, the operator responsible for producing Lightyear 0, meaning Lightyear 0 will stop production. The request was approved by the court, which declared Atlas Technologies bankrupt.

The court granted the suspension of Atlas Technologies B.V. After the application for the delivery process, Lightyear also issued a brief and clear statement on its website: "Lightyear regrets having to announce this news to all employees, customers, investors and suppliers, and will work closely with all relevant personnel. Hope they understand and support."

CTOnews.com learned that the main body of Lightyear is divided into three enterprises, and they exist independently of each other. Except for the bankrupt Atlas Technologies B.V. Besides, Lightyear also includes Atlas Technologies HoldingB.V, which owns intellectual property rights. And LightyearLayer B.V, while Atlas Technologies B.V. It can be said that it is the core of the three companies, which is responsible for the production of vehicle Lightyear 0. In other words, the bankruptcy procedure only affects the manufacturing company and does not affect the normal operation of the parent company with Lightyear intellectual property rights.

The idea of using sunlight to power an electric car seems reasonable and logical, but the fact is that an ordinary car does not have enough surface area to install enough solar cells to significantly increase the power of the battery. Sono's Sion is also a solar-powered electric car that has been working hard to put into production. Early last month, Sono also seemed to have come to an end and may never be able to go into production.

Atlas Technologies has reached an agreement with Finland's Valmet Automotive Automotive to start building the Lightyear 0 solar car in December 2022, which is also the world's first mass-produced solar car. The car, which sells for $260000 (currently about 1.75 million yuan), is said to be producing at a rate of just one a week.

At a production rate of one car a week, the Lightyear 0 produced only a few before it suddenly stopped production. The company had just released information about the Lightyear 2, which is tentatively priced at less than $40,000, and said the Lightyear 2 would have a smaller battery and lower battery life, and would need to be recharged much less frequently than traditional electric cars with similar battery life due to embedded solar panels. The Lightyear 2 will be available in a number of global markets, including Europe and the United States, and is planned to be produced by Finland's Valmet, the company said.

Now that the main company suddenly goes bankrupt, the future development prospect of Lightyear is not clear. Lightyear also revealed a few months ago that it had raised $80 million before Finland began production of the Lightyear 0.

"for some time to come, the trustee will focus on the situation of employees and creditors and assess how Lightyear can continue," the company added.

Lex Hoefsloot, chief executive and co-founder of Lightyear, said the focus and resources would be shifted to Lightyear 2, "which actually means we have to suspend production of lightyear 0."

Whether Lightyear can restructure and attract more investment for its second-generation products remains to be seen.

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