Aptera Motors has unveiled its first production car, an electric vehicle which draws power from the Sun, at the Consumer Electronics Show 2025 held in Las Vegas, US. This futuristic car with integrated solar panels, world's first production-ready solar-powered electric vehicle, promises up to 60 kms of range daily without even having to plug it in. The US-based startup says it has received nearly 50,000 bookings for the solar-powered EV so far. It is expected to hit the roads soon.
The design of the Aptera solar-powered electric car is unique and appears to be a two-seater pod which looks like a wingless flying car. It comes equipped with four solar panels, each located on the hood, dash, roof and the hatch. These panels can can generate up to 700 watts of electricity. The startup promises the solar-powered EV can offer up to 643 kms of range in a single charge. The solar panels can help recharge the EV fully in less than one hour. It also says that the electric car can potentially offer more than 16,000 kms of solar-powered driving in a year if used in extremely sunny conditions.
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The three-wheeler electric car itself its quite lightweight, being made from carbon fibre sheet moulding compound. According to the carmaker, the solar-powered EV requires less than one-tenth the parts needed to manufacture conventional vehicles. It also offers aerodynamics developed at Pininfarina’s wind tunnel in Turin, Italy. During test runs, it even achieved a drag coefficient of 0.13 , a record in the automotive industry. Chris Anthony, co-CEO at Aptera Motors, said, “This vehicle embodies years of innovation and relentless pursuit of energy-efficient mobility. CES is the perfect stage to share our vision and invite the world to join us in creating a cleaner solar-powered future."
In terms of performance, the Aptera solar-powered EV is competitive. The single electric motor of the front-wheel drive electric car can offer up to 198 bhp of maximum power. It can also sprint from zero to 100 kmph in about six seconds.
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2025-01-09T06:04:59Z