A near-production model of a solar-powered car will be on display at CES 2025.
Aptera Motors has announced that a “production intent” version of its eponymously named solar-powered vehicle will be displayed at the mammoth consumer electronics show, which will be held January 7-10 in Las Vegas.
The Aptera offers up to 40 miles of solar-powered driving per day, a three-wheel futuristic design, unparalleled energy efficiency, and the option to plug in for 400 miles on a single charge in under an hour, according to the company.
“Announcement of a production-intent model means Aptera has a vehicle that should comply with regulatory requirements and should be at a level where the design is viable for manufacturing, hitting performance, safety, and manufacturing requirements,” Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst at the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm, in Bend, Ore., told TechNewsWorld.
“Aptera is being watched with a great deal of interest by many in the automotive industry,” added Edward Sanchez, a senior analyst in the automotive practice at TechInsights, a global technology intelligence company.
“It is a radical departure from most mainstream cars,” he told TechNewsWorld. “There’s a big question of demand and mainstream appeal for such an unconventional design.”
“The company is also using some manufacturing techniques that, up to this point, have been mainly used in the supercar and motorsports industries,” he continued.
“The company is targeting a competitive price point for its vehicle, so it will be interesting to see how these specialized techniques and materials will scale for what’s intended to be a quasi-mass-market vehicle — from a volume standpoint — and if the company can maintain competitive operating margins over the longer term.”
Demo Under Scrutiny
Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research, a consulting and research firm in Las Vegas, maintained that the scrutiny around Aptera’s demo will be incredibly high. “The introduction of a production-intent vehicle signals that Aptera is transitioning from the prototype phase to a model ready for mass manufacturing, a critical milestone in its development,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“This step demonstrates the company’s confidence in the design, functionality, and manufacturability of the vehicle, aligning with industry standards and regulatory requirements,” he continued. “It also helps build consumer and investor trust by showcasing a tangible product that is nearing market readiness, setting the stage for final testing, production scaling, and eventual delivery. I’m not optimistic.”
However, that dearth of optimism doesn’t seem to be shared by the early adopters who have forked over US$1.7 billion to pre-order 50,000 units of the vehicle.
“CES is the perfect stage for unveiling the future of sustainable transportation,” Aptera Co-CEO Chris Anthony said in a statement.
“Our production-intent vehicle is not only a testament to years of innovation and engineering but also a tangible solution to reducing carbon emissions and redefining how we think about energy-efficient mobility. We’re excited to show the world that Aptera is ready to hit the road and deliver a cleaner, more sustainable future.”
To secure that future, though, will require surmounting some significant challenges. “Generally, there just isn’t enough surface area on a car for the current solar panel technology to do more than just run HVAC to keep the car cool,” Enderle explained. “Recharging the massive batteries in most EVs would take days to weeks to recharge using panels on a car.”
Power Problem
Ben Zientara, a solar policy and industry expert at SolarReviews, a reviews and advice website, asserted that there is no way to power the kind of vehicle people want to drive with solar cells embedded in a car’s surface.
“Even the most efficient solar cells can provide only a few miles of additional range per day, even if parked in the sunniest spot in the sunniest state,” he told TechNewsWorld. “The average electric vehicle can get about 3.5 miles of range with one kilowatt-hour of electricity. A car with solar cells can generate maybe three to four kWh per day, which is enough to drive 10 to 14 miles per day on just solar power.”
He pointed out that past attempts at solar-powered EVs by Sono Sion and Lightyear One both had solar cells that peaked at around 1.2 kilowatts of power under full sun. “This means that the car would need to be perfectly clean and parked in the ideal location on a very sunny day for several hours to get the maximum 14 miles per day range,” he said.
“I don’t see a huge opportunity unless we see meaningful progress with the technology and the cost that would enable them to compete with existing vehicles today, including electric vehicles and those with internal combustion engines,” added Seth Goldstein, an equity strategist and chair of the electric vehicle committee at Chicago-based Morningstar Research Services.
He explained that Aptera is targeting 40 miles for an all-solar range, after which the vehicle becomes an electric car with a battery. “I just don’t see consumers really being willing to pay extra for 40 miles of solar-powered driving.”
Vagaries of Solar Power
Even if the surface-to-power problem is addressed, there are other vagaries of solar power. “Cars are subject to weather conditions, falling leaves, bird poop, and other debris that cause loss of power output from solar cells,” Zientara noted.
He added that it is nearly impossible to perfectly orient the solar cells in a car’s surface to the sun. “To get the most from solar cells, they must be angled exactly perpendicular to incoming sunlight,” he explained. “A car has many, many different surfaces, all of which are angled in different directions. If you maximize the orientation of one surface, the others are not pointed directly at the sun.”
Then there’s the sun moving in the sky problem. “Even if you can point one or more of a vehicle’s faces directly at the sun, they won’t stay that way for very long,” Zientara noted. “And the sun also changes throughout the year, shining down more directly on the northern hemisphere in the summer and much less directly in the winter. So solar cells in a car’s surface will generate more energy during the summer and less during the winter, regardless of weather.”
Solar-powered vehicles may find a place in niche markets. “Solar-powered vehicles are potentially sufficient for use cases where extended travel in sunny regions can maximize energy generation, such as rural or remote areas with limited access to charging infrastructure,” Vena said. “They are well-suited for low-speed, short-distance transportation, like delivery services, campus shuttles, or recreational vehicles, where energy demand is lower.”
“Solar-powered vehicles can also serve as backup power sources or sustainable alternatives for off-grid living, contributing to energy independence and reduced carbon footprints,” he added.
“They won’t be viable for most people,” Enderle acknowledged, “but for those that can, or need to use them for living off the grid or because they have no viable charging alternatives, they could be a godsend.”
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