Electric vehicle startup Squad Mobility has announced a two-seater electric car with a rooftop solar panel.

The name Squad stands for Solar Quad and the car will debut in Europe in 2023 with a starting price of 6,250 euros.

This is a compact solar powered electric car that has a fairly simple design and is positioned as an affordable electric car. It will get large windows, removable doors, stylish wheels and a solar panel on the roof. The solar battery will allow to overcome up to 20 km a day. The car also has a replaceable battery, allowing you to increase the range to about 100 km. The Squad’s battery can be charged from common household outlets, adding to its versatility.

The interior of the Squad is very simple, but the cabin has a digital instrument panel, as well as a climate control system. Two rear electric motors deliver up to 5 hp. and a top speed of 45 km/h.

The company says it is also developing a four-seater solar-powered electric vehicle, but no release date has been given.

New car sales in Europe have been falling for the 10th month in a row due to chip shortages, supply chain problems and record inflation that is scaring away car buyers.

The number of vehicle registrations fell 20% to 830,447 vehicles in April, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, the sharpest drop so far this year. Automaker Stellantis NV, formed from the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler, was hit the hardest, with shares down 31%.

Problems holding back production have led LMC Automotive analysts to lower their estimate for Western European passenger car sales in each of the past four months. They now expect annual shipments to drop by 6% this year to less than 10 million units. Back in January, it was said about an increase of almost 9%.

Global supply woes show no significant signs of easing, while underlying demand prospects are also deteriorating. Households will experience a severe decline in real incomes this year. Supply issues remain a key factor at the moment.

LMC Automotive

The sharpest decline was in Italy, where sales fell by a third, while new registrations in Germany and France fell by more than 20%.

Chip shortages are forcing some buyers to wait up to 18 months for different models that are in demand. Volkswagen AG chief executive Herbert Diess said last week that the company has completely sold out electric vehicles this year in the US and Europe.

Global supply chains are suffering due to the lockdown in China. Container ships with cars simply get stuck in Chinese ports. As we have already reported, the Chinese car market has almost halved.

Tesla has delayed the release of the electric truck due to the coronavirus pandemic and the global chip shortage, but now the manufacturer has announced the start of accepting pre-orders for the Tesla Semi. Those wishing to place a pre-order must transfer $ 20,000, but there is no exact date for the start of shipments yet.

At the time of the announcement of the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker said that production versions of the 36-ton electric truck would have a range of about 480 and 800 km at a price of $150,000 and $180,000, respectively. The truck can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 20 seconds, even with a huge load.

In March last year, it became known that Tesla was building a production line for the Tesla Semi in a new building near the Gigafactory Nevada in order to produce five Tesla Semi electric trucks per week by the end of 2021. However, in July last year it became known that the release of the Tesla Semi was postponed to 2022 “due to limited availability of battery cells and problems with the global supply chain.”

The Tesla Semi is expected to offer significant fuel savings over traditional trucks. It is predicted to save up to $100,000 per year in operating costs. If the forecasts are confirmed, then the Tesla Semi could bring revolutionary changes to the transportation industry.