Solar EV startup Aptera Motors has just announced another major milestone in bringing its long-promised flagship model into production.
The founders of Aptera, Chris Anthony and Steve Fambro, helped to create the electric vehicle market in 2006 with a solar-powered electric vehicle (EV), and it got a lot of attention. But the funding didn’t exist like it does today. Thirteen years later, the two returned to designing an EV focused solely on efficiency.
Solar cell production is now underway with the help of Maxeon Solar Technologies – the newly announced cell supplier to Aptera as part of a “cross-company collaboration.” Today Aptera is equipped with almost 700 watts of integrated solar cells, which enable it to drive up to 40 miles per day on the sun’s rays alone. The car’s battery is designed for a 1,000 mile range.
Aptera describes this new agreement as a cross-company collaboration in which Maxeon will supply its highly-efficient Gen 3 solar cells to Aptera, whose solar engineers will integrate into the ultra-lightweight, two-axis (curved) solar panel technology it has already developed in house in Vista, California.
Maxeon’s chief revenue officer and interim-CEO Mark Babcock spoke to Aptera’s selection as its new cell supplier: “We’re pleased to have been selected by Aptera to bring this next phase of solar innovation to market. At Maxeon, we provide the highest quality and most efficient solar technology, and Aptera’s mission to pioneer solar mobility is the natural progression of this innovation.”
Production of the Aptera SEV is expected to ramp up in the first half of 2023 at the Vista facility, while final assembly will take place at Aptera’s original HQ in Carlsbad, CA. Several different versions of the Aptera are currently available to reserve for only $100 down.
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