Category: News Type

We’re in the finals of the Postcode Loterij Green Challenge!

Martijn Lammers — Co-Founder

From over 500 companies, we are one of 5 finalists in the Postcode Loterij Green Challenge. The finale is set to take place on 14 September in Amsterdam. Lex will be pitching, competing with the other companies from Denmark, France and Rwanda. The winner will take home €500.000.

The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is one of the world’s largest annual competitions for sustainable entrepreneurship organized by the Postcode Lottery (active in The Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and Germany). The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge encourages green start‐ups to send in creative and innovative business plans for products and services that contribute to a low carbon economy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

We’re excited to be in the finals!

Being one of five Finalists means that we have already been awarded €100.000. During RTL Summer Night, a late night talk show, to which we were invited to talk about our company. During the inte..

Lex goes USA, come meet us!

Lex Hoefsloot — Co-Founder

The dust has settled following the public launch in June, which has brought us the helping hand of many. Not only can we announce that dozens of people are interested in placing or have already placed a reservation for the Lightyear One, we have also received many applications from talent all over the world passionate about collaborating on our mission. We are expanding our team, with our most urgent vacancy being a Mechanical Architect. Although these are still humble beginnings, our movement is taking shape.

So what have I been up to? I was honoured to participate in the Global Solutions Program at Singularity University. Together with 89 people from 47 different countries chosen from thousands of applications, Lex has had a crash course in the future from the world’s best thinkers, including Peter Diamandis (“The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” – by Fortune Magazine) and Ray Kurzweil (“the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes and as a “restless ge..

Mobility is a necessity – Everyone will always travel

Lex Hoefsloot — Co-Founder

Do you remember the game-changer of mobility in the 20th century? Yes, it was Henry Ford with his car: the model T.

From this point in time urban planning was centred around the car. The streets and cities faced major transformations. Many new features came along, like parking lots, motorways, gas stations, and traffic lights. Each of these developments helped us to move around easier and more comfortable. It became easier to visit our friends and family in other towns. The time to travel reduced from days to hours, the car unlocked many opportunities. Nowadays, the car is our most expensive possession, after our house. It is a vehicle that we trust our safety to. We use the car to go on holidays and to go to-and-from work.

Mobility changed the distance travelled, not the time travelled.
Mobility is a condition for prosperity and well-being, and research points out that mobility is not only a means but also a goal in itself. Historically, people ..

Lightyear Investor Cafe: this is only the beginning

Martijn Lammers — Co-Founder

We have held our first Investor Cafe.

During this evening we presented our plans to a select group of people from our network. We informed them on what we are doing and what our plans are for the near future. We would like to thank all attendants, especially our ambassadors Camilla van den Boom, Maarten Steinbuch and Ton Backx.

Goals
The goal for this evening was to slowly start putting our mission out in the world and get valuable feedback on our plans & story. Mobilising our network to help us has proved a good strategy to test our plans against a larger group of interested people of various backgrounds. It is extremely motivating to see a growing group of people interested. Their feedback gives us a clear overview of what parts of our plans to focus on. We do this to continuously keep learning and improving.

First investors
Attendants of the investor cafe got the first, exclusive, opportunity to be among the first investors in Lightyear. To..

FAQ: How does a solar car work?

Arjo van der Ham — Co-Founder

A solar car is a car that uses the sun as its main source of energy. You might know some experimental solar cars from the World Solar Challenge, a biannual 3000 km challenge through the deserts of Australia.

The first known long distance solar car is The Quiet Achiever. Built by the brothers Larry and Garry Perkins, this car crossed the Australian continent from west to east in 1982. It reached an average speed of 23 km/h. Over the years, battery and solar technology have improved. A lot. In 2013 the World Solar Challenge introduced the Cruiser class for more practical family cars. Today the technology is at an adequate level to start the development of commercial solar cars.

How do solar cars work?
At its core, a solar car is an electric car – one with an unlimited, free and wireless power source which it takes anywhere it goes. Basically, a solar car consists of a solar panel, a battery and one or more electric motors. All these parts are co..

We are Lightyear, we’re on a mission

Martijn Lammers — Co-Founder

We love electric cars…

But they’re only the first step, what if they could generate their own energy?

That’s a business opportunity!

Lightyear was founded by 5 Solar Team Eindhoven alumni. With Solar Team Eindhoven, we built the revolutionary solar cars Stella & Stella Lux. Both cars are 4 seaters, road legal, solar powered and built to win the World Solar Challenge cruiser class. After two world championships, we decided that it is time for the next step.

Our story started back in 2012. All we had was a blank canvas, no experience, no network and no money. We took our enthusiasm, a healthy dose of naivety and common sense to start an endeavour that still continues today. Looking back, it is easy to forget the times we worked until the sun came up or the problems that kept us from working at all. Like the time our cars’ transport to the competition in Australia was cancelled a week before we left. Or the desperate attempts removing a crucial ..

Asset finance new business down 6% in quieter September

9 November 2017
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) fell by 6% in September, compared with the same month last year. In Q3 2017, new business fell by 2% compared with the same quarter in 2016.
While new finance for business equipment grew in September by 4% compared with the same month in 2016, new finance for plant and machinery fell by 8% over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“September was a quieter month for the business car and plant and machinery finance sectors. Nevertheless, the asset finance market has returned a strong performance so far in 2017, with new business overall 6% higher than in the previous year. Over the same period, UK business investment is forecast to have grown by only 2.3%.
“Recent data revisions by the Office for National Statistics suggest that the asset finance industry’s contribution to supporting business investment is even greater than previously thought. FLA calculations show that the industry financed more than 35% of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the twelve months to June 2017 – an eight-year high.”
Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
3 months to Sep
2017
% change on prev. year
12 months to Sep
2017
% change on prev. year
Total FLA asset finance (£m)
2,750
-6
7,574
-2
31,611
+5
Total excluding high value (£m)
2,740
-2
7,381
+3
30,579
+6
Data Extracts:
By asset:
Plant and machinery finance (£m)
494
-8
1,537
+5
6,505
+12
Commercial vehicle finance (£m)
711
+1
1,764
-2
7,488
+2
IT equipment finance (£m)
212
-4
549
-5
2,214
-3
Business equipment finance (£m)
219
+4
632
+8
2,567
+12
Car finance (£m)
888
-8
2,396
+2
9,763
+5
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m)
20
+24
34
-77
615
+20
By channel:
Direct finance (£m)
1,283
-5
3,711
0
15,506
+4
Broker-introduced finance (£m)
520
-4
1,423
+3
5,723
+12
Sales finance (£m)
937
+3
2,248
+6
9,350
+6
By product:
Finance leasing (£m)
344
-3
941
0
4,000
-3
Operating leasing (£m)
655
-6
1,658
0
7,063
+6
Lease/Hire purchase (£m)
1,434
-2
4,045
+3
16,589
+9
Other finance (£m)
316
-24
930
-21
3,959
-4
Note to editors:
In 2016, FLA members provided £118 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £30 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed more than a third of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK in 2016.For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.

Continued growth in consumer finance in October

13 December 2017
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 10% in consumer finance new business in October, compared with the same month last year.
Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 13% compared with October 2016, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 3%. Second charge mortgage new business increased 20% by value and 19% by volume over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“The growth in consumer finance new business so far in 2017 has been in line with expectations. The latest research from Oxford Economics on behalf of the FLA suggests that total UK new consumer credit will grow by 4.1% in 2017 overall and by 1.2% in 2018.”
Table 1: New consumer credit lending
Oct 2017
% change on prev. year
3 months to Oct 2017
% change on prev. year
12 months to Oct 2017
% change on prev. year
Total FLA consumer finance (£m)
7,832
+10
23,995
+5
92,504
+6
Data extracts:
Retail store and online credit (£m)
613
+3
1,679
+5
6,720
+2
Credit cards & personal loans (£m)
4,075
+13
11,971
+6
47,447
+7
Second charge mortgages (£m)
85
+20
254
+15
993
+13
Car finance (£m)
2,727
+8
8,971
+5
33,218
+6
Note to editors:
FLA members in the consumer finance sector include banks, credit card providers, store card providers, second-charge mortgage lenders, motor finance providers, personal loan and instalment credit providers.In 2016, FLA members provided £118 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £88 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2016.For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.

Asset finance up 7% in October

13 December 2017
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew by 7% in October, compared with the same month last year.
The plant and machinery finance and business equipment finance sectors reported new business up in October by 6% and 13% respectively, compared with the same month in 2016, while new finance for IT equipment was up by 22% over the same period.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“Growth in the asset finance market was broad-based in October, with most of the main asset sectors reporting increases in new business.
“The industry is on course to report a record level of annual new business in 2017 of around £32 billion.”
Oct 2017
% change on prev. year
3 months to Oct
2017
% change on prev. year
12 months to Oct
2017
% change on prev. year
Total FLA asset finance (£m)
2,672
+7
7,625
+1
31,771
+5
Total excluding high value (£m)
2,665
+9
7,568
+3
30,772
+7
Data Extracts:
By asset:
Plant and machinery finance (£m)
489
+6
1,485
+1
6,518
+12
Commercial vehicle finance (£m)
660
+5
1,883
0
7,520
+2
IT equipment finance (£m)
195
+22
579
+4
2,248
0
Business equipment finance (£m)
196
+13
603
+8
2,585
+12
Car finance (£m)
911
+8
2,413
+2
9,833
+6
Aircraft, ships and rolling stock finance (£m)
17
-64
44
-52
586
+10
By channel:
Direct finance (£m)
1,395
+6
3,786
+1
15,585
+4
Broker-introduced finance (£m)
505
+14
1,478
+5
5,785
+13
Sales finance (£m)
765
+11
2,304
+7
9,403
+7
By product:
Finance leasing (£m)
328
+5
945
+1
4,005
-3
Operating leasing (£m)
553
-1
1,678
-2
7,057
+6
Lease/Hire purchase (£m)
1,519
+14
4,148
+5
16,765
+10
Other finance (£m)
271
-5
855
-11
3,944
-5
Note to editors:
In 2016, FLA members provided £118 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £30 billion of finance was provided to businesses and the public sector. FLA members financed more than a third of UK investment in machinery, equipment and purchased software in the UK in 2016.For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.

Consumer new car finance volumes down 11% in September

9 November 2017
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that new business volumes in the point of sale (POS) consumer new car finance market fell by 11% in September, compared with the same month in 2016, while the growth in the value of new business was flat over the same period. In Q3 2017 overall, new business was up 1% by value, but fell 9% by volume.
The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS held steady at 86.0% in the twelve months to September.
The POS consumer used car finance market reported new business in September up 9% by value and 3% by volume, compared with the same month last year.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“The performance of the POS consumer new car finance market in September continued to reflect recent trends in private new car sales.
“Despite subdued consumer confidence, new business volumes in the POS consumer car finance market overall were stable in the first nine months of 2017, compared with the same period in 2016.”
Table 1: Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships
New business
Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
3 months to Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
12 months to Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
New cars
Value of advances (£m)
2,869
0
4,898
+1
18,358
+3
Number of cars
144,143
-11
254,167
-9
985,382
-5
Used cars
Value of advances (£m)
1,277
+9
3,849
+11
14,663
+10
Number of cars
110,000
+3
337,170
+5
1,303,848
+5
Table 2: Cars bought on finance by businesses
New business
Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
3 months to Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
12 months to Sep 2017
% change on prev. year
New cars
Number of cars
41,827
-16
119,873
-6
505,930
-1
Used cars
Number of cars
3,862
-8
16,397
+34
58,492
+34
Note to editors:
In 2016, FLA members provided £118 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £88 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit, over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2016. £41 billion of it supported the purchase of new and used cars, including over 86% of private new car registrations. 2. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.