Aptera, a three-wheeled vehicle with a body covered in photovoltaics, can generate over 4 kWh of energy per day. It has a range of 60+ km.

The Aptera Atlas 1, a three-wheeled vehicle from the American startup Aptera Motors, is designed to be as energy self-sufficient as possible. TÜV Rheinland tested it and found that it could generate 4.23 to 4.75 kWh of energy in a day under California’s sunlight. With an energy consumption of 6.2 kWh per 100 km, this yields slightly more than the promised 40 miles of range powered by sunlight.

Aptera, the first vehicle with solar power to succeed?

The startup has long aimed for 64 kilometers of free driving range without the need to recharge. The lowest value measured by TÜV Rheinland was 4.23 kWh of energy that reached the battery, which already accounted for losses at the cell and transmission levels. If the claimed consumption is exactly 6.215 kWh/100 km, then the user has 68.1 kilometers of “solar” range available, which is 4.1 kilometers more than promised. The 4.23 kWh figure was achieved when the vehicle remained in one place all day.

On the second day, after the trike was repositioned in the afternoon “following the owner’s instructions,” it was able to generate 4.4 kWh of energy, which corresponds to a range of 70.8 kilometers “under sunlight” (source). During the third day of testing, the maximum configuration was chosen, with the rear panel (part of the body) angled toward the sun—on that day, 4.75 kWh of energy reached the battery, sufficient for a range of 76.4 kilometers. The manufacturer adds that sunlight conditions were the worst during the final test.

Target appearance of the trike (c) Aptera Motors

And now the pitfalls, which the company actually mentions officially. The measurements were taken in Southern California, in July. July is right after the summer solstice, when the sun is exactly above the Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of Cancer is at 23.4 degrees north latitude. Carlsbad, the city where Aptera Motors is headquartered, is at 33.1 degrees north latitude, so at noon the sun was almost directly above the vehicle. In the following months, sunlight would be weaker, and it would be significantly worse in Europe, where the sky is often covered with clouds.

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