The best way to cut down on your carbon footprint is with solar power. There are many car manufacturers that offer hybrid and solar powered cars. One example is Lightyear Zero, while other models include Maruti Suzuki's Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Hybrid.
Lightyear 0
The Lightyear 0 car with solar power has been in development for a number of years. However, it's still a long way from being ready for the streets. The car is similar to the Tesla Model 0 with some notable differences. Despite being smaller in size, the battery is still far more powerful than that of the Model 0 due to its aerodynamic design.
The Lightyear 0, a solar car, has a range of up 388 miles. It can also reduce the time you spend at the charging station. Lightyear says that drivers can travel up to seven times without the need to charge their car in sunny weather. In cloudy conditions, you will need to charge your car after two months.
Sono Motors
Sono Motors was founded in a Munich garage 10 years ago. The company had the idea to use solar power to power cars. It was able to see that solar power could be used in order to accelerate the adoption of electric cars. Most Germans rent apartments, so they are often unable plug their cars into the electrical socket to charge. However, the addition of solar panels to a car significantly extends the range.
Sono Motors has produced the Sion sun car as one of their first solar cars. This hybrid battery-electric vehicle makes use of solar cells to produce electricity, and extend the battery's life. Despite its high-tech design, Sono Motors is not yet ready to begin deliveries of its first vehicle.
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
Solar roofs are available for Sonata Hybrid owners who want to make their vehicle more eco-friendly. Hyundai is not the first company to use this system. In 2012, Toyota first made the decision to install solar panels on the roof of its Prius. However, the solar roof didn't work very well and only offset secondary power needs. It also didn’t provide any range.
The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid's roof-mounted solar panels are highly efficient and produce 22.8% of its power requirements. This is significantly greater than the standard rooftop solar array, which only manages a rate at 1519%. The efficiency of the panels is affected by many factors including the external environment. Production can be reduced by as much 31% by having dead leaves or roofs that are tarnished.
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki believes in renewable energy and the new Manesar-based solar power plant is a good example of this commitment. In 2014, a 1MW solar plant was established there. Later, it was expanded to 1.3MW. The company will have more than 6.3 MW annually of solar power, which is enough to power Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing facilities.
Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing facility in Gurugram will be powered entirely by solar energy. To generate energy for the plant, the carmaker plans on installing photovoltaic solar cells in the form of carports. Solar panels will generate clean energy while protecting cars parked under them from harsh climatic conditions. To meet its manufacturing needs at Gurugram, the company currently uses grid power and a natural-gas-based captive power station.