- Annual driving distance of petrol vehicles is 10000 km/year or less (250 km or ~155 miles per work week) [source: ACEA_Report_Vehicles_in_use-Europe_2017]. Extending this range by 112 km/week on average is not a bad proposition, if it's real.
- Average TCO in the first 5 years is over EUR 40_000 anyway [source: www.leaseplan.com/corporate/news-and-media/newsroom/2020/30-09-2020]. So most people who can afford a new car, can afford this one.
- The price tag EUR 25_500 is fair. VW Golf 8 is a vehicle of a similar size, and it starts at EUR 26_100, so it's basically the same.
- In the cities, street parking is often the only option, and most industrial areas use open parking; so getting some sunlight is not impossible.
So this tech is not more expensive than conventional vehicles (at least on paper). It can potentially reduce charging needs by 40% or more for a typical European user (who admittedly doesn't drive much). It's not very attractive without a network of easily accessible charging stations, but that applies to all EVs.
As you point out, by the standards of 'car accessories and upgrades', this one is probably reasonable and novel.
Looking at the chart they provide, that assumes perfect conditions in the month of June only. A sunny week in December will only provide 70km.
But going off the stated ‘average’ of 69.6 miles a week, roughly 10 miles for a whole day of collecting sun. You might get nice returns on a sunny day in the summer, but in general year round, your probably lucky to get 3-5 miles.
Elon Musk spoke about this on Joe Rogan recently, and said it’s just not worth it. The return on investment is just so small, and we’ve essentially reached the technical limits of what solar panels can provide. So we will likely never see this in a Tesla.
Tesla cars are heavier, twice as powerful and twice as expensive. Solar panels trade trade design freedom for utility. I'm not sure that big flat surfaces and an MPV silhouette would do well for a luxury vehicle.
In shopping mall parking lots there is often some chargers, but more often than not they seem to be occupied. With a car like this, unless you drive a lot, you can park the car anywhere in the parking lot and not think about the charger.
My pre-COVID commute was about 28 km if I chose the scenic route with no traffic lights, or 12 if I crossed the city (I usually took mass transit, so I could read instead of drive). My post-COVID commute will probably be much smaller, as we are all going remote with sporadic visits to the office. I can get to the beach or the mountains within 5 km. For my post-COVID needs, this car would almost never need to be plugged (maybe during winter because these latitudes make the days short).
- don't drive very much
- but drive enough to spend tens of thousands on a new car
- but can't put a charger at their residence
- but can park somewhere that isn't shaded by trees or buildings or clouds or snow
Still, as the overall market for electric cars grows that can add up to millions of people. There's also another larger group:
- People who don't choose car options based on a fully considered rational utilitarian evaluation of cost/benefit
Which brings you up to >90% of car buyers ;). I'd probably pay for it if it's <$4000, it's much more utilitarian than 24" alloy wheels at least.