Orders flare for Aptera solar car

A solar car from US-based Aptera Motors is due on the road later this year after more than 7500 reservations have been received and a successful funding round raised over US$4 million.

The three-wheeled, two person Aptera costs from US$25,900, is able to travel up to 65km on just solar and can be plugged-in if necessary to add 240km range in about 15 minutes.

The solar car has featured in EVs and Beyond, with Stuff this week repeating a story about it from The Washington Post.

“We plan to open up a new round of investment opportunities later this year to give people who weren’t able to participate on WeFunder the chance to join the Aptera family,” the company says.

 “In just over two months, we’ve garnered over 7000 pre-order reservations for our Solar Electric Vehicle (SEV) totalling a quarter-billion in orders.

“This funding pushes Aptera even closer to the start of production, allowing us to bring on more employees and fully equip our new facility.”

Aptera recently moved into its new production design studio in the Sorrento Valley area of San Diego.

The 5620 square metre campus will house Aptera’s three completed vehicles, as well as a team of development engineers.

“Areas of focus will be advanced 3D printing, composites, UI/UX development, and battery technologies development. As we expand, we will be evaluating additional locations for production facilities in San Diego and around the world.”

The aerodynamic SEV has about 3.2 square metres of solar cells.