Arval pre-orders 10,000 solar-powered Lightyear 2

European vehicle leasing giant Arval and Dutch tech start-up Lightyear have announced a partnership to introduce the first solar-powered electric vehicles (EV) to boost sustainable mobility in Europe. 

The agreement includes the pre-order of 10,000 Lightyear 2, Lightyear’s mass-market model. Lightyear has reached 21,000 pre-orders from B2B clients and aims to gain more corporate clients through Arval. Lightyear says the total of the Lightyear 2 pre-orders represents revenue of €840 million. 

Alain van Groenendael, CEO of Arval (left), said technology makes a great contribution to their fleet and added, “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, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear (right), said the agreement allows their technology to become available for anyone, “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.”

Lightyear 2 is an answer to the need for convenient mobility solutions, says Lightyear; the vehicle offers over 800 km range per charge, with a price below €40,000.