Squad Solar City: The Solar Quad

Squad has opened the order books: The start-up is a spin-off of the Dutch company Lightyear. Two former employees, Robert Hoevers and Chris Klok, who both bring years of experience in the motorcycle and automotive industry, have gone independent with Squad.

Up to 100 kilometers range, with the sun contributing up to 20 kilometers daily

Their "Solar Quad" aims to bridge the gap between cars and two-wheelers as a two-seater Solar City Car. The light vehicle with a top speed of 45 km/h can be driven from the age of 16. Four batteries with a capacity of 1.6 kWh each are expected to offer up to 6.4 kWh and a range of up to 100 kilometers. The information on the solar-generated kilometers is now a bit more modest: in 2019, Squad still assumed 9,000 kilometers, but now Squad still mentions up to 7,300 kilometers per year in Europe under ideal conditions. It can be charged using solar power or a household socket.

Although the Squad is designed for the L6e light vehicle class, a robust aluminum cage together with the wheels (per Squad: tires are the best bumpers) is supposed to ensure safety, as it features a complete crash structure at the front and rear, as well as three-point seat belts.

Small footprint: Three Squads fit in one car parking space

The interior is designed to offer plenty of space for two people along with their luggage. A smartphone serves as the navigation module, with minimalist displays and some storage spaces for laptops, cups, etc. Squad is also intended to be optimized for sharing platforms and to withstand intensive "use." An important point for the creators is also the small footprint of only 2.4 square meters, so that a standard car parking space can accommodate three Squads.

Squad has also focused on sustainability: the entire vehicle is designed to be easy to clean inside and out, and broken parts should be easy to replace. An additional option for the infrastructure is the "Squad Battery Wall" for quick swapping and charging of the batteries.

What does that mean?

The idea is obvious: combine a quad with a large solar roof - and you have a lightweight, innovative city car that can generate up to 20 kilometers of range per day from the sun.