A sci-fi-style electric vehicle has launched that's entirely powered by the Sun. Californian company Aptera claim their £27k vehicle can drive months without having to charge.
The firm say the Launch Edition, announced this month, has the longest range of any production vehicle, with up to 1,000 miles per charge and the ability to travel up to 40 miles a day on free power from its integrated solar panels. They explain: "With Aptera’s solar technology, consistent access to a charging station or even a plug and socket isn’t necessary.
"Aptera’s Launch Edition comes integrated with a solar charging package allowing most people to drive for weeks, even months, without ever having to plug in to charge."
Equipped with roughly 700 watts of proprietary solar technology, Aptera drives up to 40 miles per day directly from the sun’s rays, making it possible to "never plug in to charge again". In location with very high sun exposure Aptera say the average driver would never have to plug in, based on the daily average of 29 miles.
In a location with medium sun exposure, like most of the UK, drivers would only need to plug in roughly three times per year. Aptera’s vehicle can use any standard power outlet in the world as a place to charge your vehicle.
When plugged into a 120V outlet, Aptera’s Launch Edition can charge over 13 miles per hour or roughly 150 miles overnight. Steve Fambro, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, said: "We’ve solved the equation for a more efficient way to travel by harnessing the power of the sun, and we’re excited to introduce our Launch Edition vehicle to the world.
"Our tireless efforts have resulted in the Aptera vehicle, that can take you where you want to go using the creative energy directly from our sun and efficiently converted into free movement.”
Aptera say they are finalising the fourth and final phase of product development. As part of this phase, they will complete crash testing and validation.
Once completed, Aptera plans to scale quickly into full-scale single shift production of 10,000 vehicles per year.
From there, Aptera will expand its output to dual shift 20,000 vehicles per year out of its Carlsbad, California facility.
Chris Anthony, Co-Founder and Co-CEO adds: "While our delivery timeline is funding dependent, our goal is to begin production by the end of 2023.
“Our Launch Edition is our chance to show the world something that’s never existed before."
