[obermd]

A few years back Toyota released a Prius with a gimmick solar roof that generated enough power to drive the cabin HVAC system for cabin cooling. Their latest test vehicle appears to do it right. The entire car is covered with very thin and light solar cells which can provide up to 27 miles of driving range per day. Remember, the Prius Prime has a 25 mile AER, so this effectively doubles the electric only range of a Prius Prime. The other big difference is this car is engineered to allow the solar electric to recharge the batteries while driving.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/05/t...-electric-cars-that-can-charge-while-driving/

Will this help BEV owners - possibly. Who it will help are the PHEV owners where the limited EV range can cause them to dip into their gas tanks, especially in the winter when that 20% range hit all EVs take comes into play.

 

[2002]

A few years back Toyota released a Prius with a gimmick solar roof that generated enough power to drive the cabin HVAC system for cabin cooling. Their latest test vehicle appears to do it right. The entire car is covered with very thin and light solar cells which can provide up to 27 miles of driving range per day. Remember, the Prius Prime has a 25 mile AER, so this effectively doubles the electric only range of a Prius Prime. The other big difference is this car is engineered to allow the solar electric to recharge the batteries while driving.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/05/t...-electric-cars-that-can-charge-while-driving/

Will this help BEV owners - possibly. Who it will help are the PHEV owners where the limited EV range can cause them to dip into their gas tanks, especially in the winter when that 20% range hit all EVs take comes into play.

That would really be something if they can pull it off but I'm pretty skeptical about the 27 miles (or is it 35 miles the article isn't clear). I wonder if they are extrapolating peak power production, like if you were driving in the tropics at noon on one of the two days of the year when the sun is directly overhead. And requiring that you drive at 1,000 mph so that you could follow underneath the sun

 

[Pytone]

Let's just be honest guys, this idea sounds great only on paper, besides this it is nothing incredible about it, let's just be objective about it. I mean, most of the brands still cannot produce a proper fully electric car, while this one is already based on solar energy, that is pretty absurd, at least at this very moment. However, in case this thing turns into something real, I will be kind of surprised and really happy that it was toyota, the first company to do such a thing. I am a really great fan of this brand actually. I still own a 2005 rav4. That is probably one of the most reliable cars ever. The only serious thing that I have done to it, was the toyota rav4 ecm repair, after that job, the car is still running, just like a new one.

 

[DucRider]

Technically a motorcycle (3 wheels), but ultra efficiency makes primarily solar power possible.
https://www.aptera.us/

"Aptera is the first electric/ solar vehicle that requires no charging for most daily use. Thanks to the power of the sun, the dream of driving for more miles with less carbon, materials, and energy from the grid is now a reality."

"The Aptera is the first Never Charge electric vehicle. Its solar system can produce more power per year than most drivers will ever need for the road."

 

[4sallypat]

A few years back Toyota released a Prius with a gimmick solar roof that generated enough power to drive the cabin HVAC system for cabin cooling. Their latest test vehicle appears to do it right. The entire car is covered with very thin and light solar cells which can provide up to 27 miles of driving range per day. Remember, the Prius Prime has a 25 mile AER, so this effectively doubles the electric only range of a Prius Prime. The other big difference is this car is engineered to allow the solar electric to recharge the batteries while driving.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/05/t...-electric-cars-that-can-charge-while-driving/

Will this help BEV owners - possibly. Who it will help are the PHEV owners where the limited EV range can cause them to dip into their gas tanks, especially in the winter when that 20% range hit all EVs take comes into play.

Love the idea !

But watch it debut in Southern California where we have sun almost every day of the year.

Looking at Christmas this year: 75 degrees, sunny, and clear weather.....