Nissan Builds a Solar-Powered Vehicle: Up to 14 Extra Miles of Range a Day in Ideal Conditions

Nissan has come up with a new way to make its electric vehicles go farther while cutting their environmental footprint. To mark International Clean Energy Day this week, the automaker unveiled a special version of the all-electric Ariya crossover equipped with solar panels on the roof, hood, and rear glass.

The project was developed in partnership with engineers from Dutch startup Lightyear. While Lightyear’s production solar car, the Lightyear 0, never made it to market, the company’s polymer-and-glass solar panel technology is still considered among the most advanced in the world. Thanks to that collaboration, the Ariya received photovoltaic panels covering a total area of about 41 square feet.

At first glance, the payoff may seem modest. According to Nissan, the panels can add up to roughly 14 miles of driving range per day under perfect conditions — and only in very sunny regions. By the company’s estimates, the system would deliver about 11 miles per day in Barcelona, roughly 6 miles in London, and around 13 miles in Dubai.

That said, the benefits go beyond daily range. Nissan says charging frequency for this “solar” Ariya could drop by 35% to 65%. During a two-hour drive covering about 50 miles, the vehicle can generate around 0.5 kWh of clean energy, enough for roughly 2 additional miles of range.

Nissan also points to more substantial long-distance data. During a test drive from the Netherlands to Barcelona, a journey of about 960 miles, engineers concluded that over a total distance of 3,700 miles, the number of charging stops could be reduced from 23 to just eight.

For now, it’s unclear whether such large solar panels will appear on production Nissan models. Still, the company says projects like this move it closer to its long-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality across the entire product life cycle by 2050.

As a reminder, the current pre-facelift Nissan Ariya sold in Europe is available with 66 kWh or 91 kWh battery packs and single- or dual-motor setups producing between 218 and 394 horsepower. Depending on configuration, driving range reaches approximately 211 to 398 miles under the WLTC cycle.