This Is The World’s CHEAPEST Solar Powered Car

Jack heads to Breda to drive a prototype of the latest innovative solar-powered electric car to come out of the Netherlands: The Squad Solar. The brainchild of two former Lightyear employees, is this tiny, cheap and allegedly 'uncrashable' electric solar car the future of urban transportation? Or is it just a posh golf buggy?

00:00 The best car that never was
1:24 World's cheapest solar car
2:44 A micro-ish car
3:51 Exterior design
5:02 Crash testing
5:33 Convenience and swappable batts
8:00 Very prototype-y
8:38 Microcars just make sense!
9:38 Visibility & efficiency
11:38 Interior review
14:20 Price & ride-sharing
16:23 The verdict

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#SquadsSolar #Microcar #solarcar #lightyear #solarpowered #electriccar #ev

[darkejon]

Vehicles like this would be absolutely perfect in the Caribbean. So many islands there have to import fuel to get electricity and have an absolute abundance of sun all year round. To be practical there just need to be able to handle very steep hills.

[cmac]

Everyone wanting doors on a solar car makes sense. In theory, you'd want to store it outside to get the most sun so, the doors would keep the interior dry without having to worry about rain. Even if the interior is waterproof, no one wants to sit in a wet seat.

[charlesjmouse]

Got to love the Dutch - "The weather in our country is every bit as miserable as the UK" ...sucks on spliff... "Let's make a solar powered car!"
Joking aside:
Something like this would be ideal for someone like me who lives on a sunny if mountainous island, with a change or two: 1) Enough grunt to get up a steep incline at more than walking pace. 2) Reasonable range, not 'city only'. 3) Some foldable rear seats.

[Itriedtakennames]

Lived in Southern CA a while, and it was not infrequent to see road-worthy (apparently, there were plenty around on the roads) open, golf cart-type vehicles as a “second car” (Or 3rd car). And often, these were charged off the house electricity supplemented by solar panels.

They just have bench seats and a flat roof, generally no doors or windows, and don’t look highway worthy, but are handy for short trips around town, taking kids to and from school, going to the local stores, and are pretty popular, including among teen drivers.

[jameshughes]

Swappable batteries? Affordable? Solar? Going to be available in the US? It's like these people have done something insane... listen to what people want. I need this adorable thing. I hope they are wildly successful.

[SquadMobility]

Thank you Jack and Fully Charged for this nice video!
We are working on this suspension issue, clearly the suspension is way too hard, (It seems the supplier made a mistake with the springs :-).
One thing we forgot to mention is why we use a full Aluminium chassis; yes it is light, therefore efficient, and very recyclable. But mainly because we have got quite a large interest from islands and seaside resorts, e.g. in the Caribbean. Actually one of the first decisions we have made is to make the full chassis in Aluminium because of the corrosive salty & humid air on Caribbean Islands. This was suggested by an early customer in St. Barths.

[harveykennett]

Stunning micro-car. The savings on not having to buy fuel are going to be significant. I'm sure you could probably stick a Bluetti in and charge up the car if you really wanted (I saw another micro-car channel where they did just that and charge up their car from a solar-powered Bluetti). Ofc, this already has solar on the roof. Excellent presenter as well, and his mix of technical info and informal, chatty presenting style felt very natural. I felt he got the balance just right.

This is a game-changer for people especially in the cities in flats, where they can't run cables out to their vehicles and don't want to get ripped off with on-street chargers. Basically, the car is always charging 🙂

[dej]

I am just now getting into the micro car fit. Always been more of a biker. Glad to know something like this will be a part of our transportation future. Would greatly reduce traffic, auto deaths and the carbon foot print here in the US. Jack does a great job introducing everyone to these commonsense vehicles (I've been binge watching His videos). His enthusiasm is contagious when he talks about the features. Also, He's definitely not bad to look at himself. Thank you Jack and Fully Charged Show for doing these vieos!

[gamertherapyconsoleyoursel]

I think this is the first micro-car I've seen where Jack actually has inches of extra space above his head.

[MrBizteck]

These are going to be a MASSIVE hit in Rome. They love their microcars.

[edwardlamb]

This was the coolest thing I saw at FCR Amsterdam back in 2022. So cool!

[FredLinden]

I live in the countryside in NE Thailand; a couple of years ago I bought an electric tuktuk, basically the front of a motorcycle and a cargo bed in the back with a windshield and roof. A year ago I had a solar panel and a new battery added. We get plenty of sun most of the year, even now during the rainy season.

A couple of weeks I drove at least 45 kilometers: it was a sunny day and the battery didn’t even drop to 80%. It is slow — a cruising speed of 40km/h on a good road — but we mostly use it as a neighborhood and garden vehicle to transport manure, biochar, tools, plants, harvests, straw, food from the market and such. Speed is not an issue.

If it had been done right from the start, it would have cost me an estimated $3, 000, at most. Unfortunately it’s been a learning experience for everyone involved, but eventually I found a trustworthy mechanic and stuck with him through his learning process. By now — three battery changes later — it has cost me about $5, 000, but it’s worth it.

The nearest gas station is 3.5 km from here, in a direction we usually don’t go. The solar tuktuk has replaced the need for a pickup truck, so we bought a small hatchback EV instead. It’s easy and cheap to get things like tires and brakes fixed. Why vehicles like this aren’t everywhere beats me.

[thehairybfg]

I live in a small town. The main road has a 40kmph limit. Everything in the town only a 5 minute drive away. I think small places could use this as much as large cities.

[dogbreath]

Great little car for city and towns, removable doors are a great idea as well, the price of this is very good, especially when you can pay more for a mountain bike. Great work Jack and team.

[DEADBF]

I'd like a micro off-roader....

Something this size, but solidly built with more suspension travel and 4WD.
50 mile winter range would plenty. Small pickup bed with enough room for a couple of dogs would be a bonus.

[Richard.blackburn]

Thanks Jack. I've pre-ordered my Squad Solar. Let's hope it makes it to market in the UK. I can see this microcar being really handy for small runs around town, school runs etc. It'll mean that I can leave my dual fuel V8 SUV parked on the drive and saved for longer journeys and motorway trips.
I can see how a 90kmph version would be useful because it would keep up with HGVs on the UKs motorways... I wouldn't like to drive on the motorway at 70kmph, even for 1 junction because I'd be overtaken by HGVs. Very scarey in a little vehicle.
Looking forward to seeing this micro car developing.

[realavx]

Pushing those front and back tires slightly outwards is the most genius thing I've seen in a car. Imagine pushing them outward in all directions 🤯

[paulaspinall]

12miles/kwh. Bonkers. Now that would enable realistic transport for short distances. I’d certainly consider it for all my local stuff up to 20 miles. Swappable batteries mean you could nip into an ‘energy station’ and be on your way in no more than a couple of minutes. Space for shopping and the dog!👍

[dumitru]

Looks great for short distances and, most important, not dependent by fuel, gas, diesel. Great job!

[scottlavoie]

I'd consider buying one, the fact that it has solar panels already installed is great!