太陽光パネル搭載 ＥＶソーラーカー、１日７０キロ走行可

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】電気自動車（ＥＶ）に太陽光パネルを搭載したソーラーカーの生産に、スタートアップや大手自動車メーカーが乗り出している。（写真はスペイン北部トゥデラで披露されたソーラーカー「Ｌｉｇｈｔｙｅａｒ ０」）
　照り付けるスペイン北部の太陽の下、新興メーカー、ライトイヤーが打ち出した「Ｌｉｇｈｔｙｅａｒ ０」は、ボンネットとルーフに設置した５平方メートル相当の太陽光パネルから得られる電力により、１日当たり７０キロの走行が可能だ。
　空気抵抗が少ない流線形の車体デザインとインホイールモーター（ホイール内側にモーターを配置しタイヤを直接駆動する仕組み）を採用した「Ｌｉｇｈｔｙｅａｒ ０」の消費電力は、ＳＵＶタイプの電気自動車よりも少ない。
　同社によると、充電式バッテリーの航続距離は６２５キロ。１日の走行距離が短い場合、充電が必要となるのは冬季だけだ。
　「Ｌｉｇｈｔｙｅａｒ ０」はハイエンド市場をターゲットにしており、生産台数は１０００台前後。販売価格は２５万ユーロ（約３５００万円）で、英高級車「ベントレー」に匹敵する。
　その一方で２０２４～２５年には、価格３万ユーロ（約４２０万円）程度の量産モデルの発売も目指している。
　ＥＶ販売が急成長を遂げる中、トヨタ自動車、テスラ、メルセデス・ベンツなどの大手メーカーからも太陽光パネル搭載ＥＶが続々と打ち出される予定だ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/07/04-14:06）

Startups and major carmakers are starting to incorporate solar panels on their electric vehicles, an addition that extends the range of the cars even if perpetual motion remains a dream.
As it rolls under the blistering sun of northern Spain, the Lightyear 0 generates enough electricity every day to drive 70 kilometers (43 miles) thanks to the five square metres of solar panels integrated into hood and roof.
The company was founded by young Dutch engineers who earned their spurs in running solar cars in races across the Australian desert.
Thanks to the drop in the price of solar panels, Lightyear is trying to incorporate them into road cars.
With its sleek, aerodynamic line and motors integrated into the wheels, the Lightyear 0 consumes less energy than electric SUVs.
Coupled with a battery that offers 625 kilometres per charge, the company says some customers who drive only short distances each day may only need to charge during the winter.
The clock is ticking, we need to have sustainable cars as soon as possible, one of the founders, Lex Hoefsloot, told AFP.
Charging points are still a big hurdle. If we don't need them, we can scale electric cars much quicker, he added.
Lightyear targeted the top-end of the market with the 0, with the 1,000 or so cars produced setting back buyers 250,000 euros, the equivalent of a Bentley.
The company hopes to launch a mass-market model with a price tag of 30,000 euros ($31,500) in 2024-2025.
- Going mainstream -
As sales of electric vehicles are soaring, a number of models with solar panels are expected to arrive in dealerships in the coming months.
Toyota is now proposing solar panels as an option on Prius hybrids, as well as its first 100 percent electric vehicle, the BZ4X.
Tesla also plans to offer solar panels as an option on its pickup that is due to hit the road next year.
Mercedes equipped its luxurious EQXX with solar panels in the roof. The sedan, sleek like the Lightyear, has a range of 1,000 kilometres.
The cost of adding solar panels to cars has now fallen to several hundred dollars, a small amount compared to the overall cost of most models.
Solar is now so inexpensive that even imperfectly sunny locations are worth putting solar on, said Gregory Nemet, a solar power expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The value of putting solar on cars is that it can extend the range of the car, he said.
While it may not be able to fully charge the battery in a day, it can provide enough energy to get home.
Or solar panels can help provide enough electricity to run the air conditioning in the vehicles, noted Gautham Ram Chandra Mouli, a specialist on electric mobility at Delft University in the Netherlands.
- Parking problems -
Drivers will likely want to run the air conditioning as they will have to park in the sun in order to get a good charge.
That could pose problems for some city drivers with parking spaces in garages.
The season is also an important factor. Drivers in northern Europe will get much less of a charge from integrated solar panels in the winter than during the summer.
The California startup Aptera, which has 25,000 orders, designed its futuristic three-wheeler to be highly efficient in order to get the most from solar power.
The two-seater vehicles, which should begin to be delivered to buyers this year, could get over 60 kilometres of travel from its solar panels.
Depending on the model, which cost from $26,000 to $46,000, the cars can travel from 400 to 1,600 kilometres on a full battery charge.
German firm Sono Motors has taken a more classic approach with its compact-minivan Sion.
A boxy, black five-seater that screams family car, the Sion is completely covered in solar panels.
We developed a technique that allows covering all the car with solar panels, said Jona Christians, a co-founder of Sono Motors.
The first Sions should be delivered next year and the current pre-order price is 28,500 euros.
The firm already has 18,000 such pre-orders and hopes to be able to manufacture over a quarter-million vehicles this decade.
The Sion is also being designed to offer different functionalities from its battery, including powering other devices and charging other vehicles. It can even give power back to the grid.
The Dutch firm Squad Mobility is targeting a different market -- what it calls sub(urban) mobility.
The Squad Solar City Car may resemble an enclosed golf cart, but the two- or four-seat vehicles can zip around fast enough and have enough room to make completing many urban errands convenient.
With the solar panels in the roof, the car can generate enough power to travel 20 kilometres per day in Europe.
The company says such microcars travel around 12 kilometres per day on average, meaning most users won't need to charge it daily.
Solar panels will get more affordable, drivetrains will get better, said Squad Mobility's chief, Robert Hoevers.
Sooner or later you'll drive everyday on solar.