The automotive industry is growing at a tremendous speed every day. People are now used to seeing electric cars on the road, and a couple of days ago, the news was circulating about a photochromic car brand that changes from one color to another.

While these changes are impressive, the fact remains that most of these upgrades don’t address the economic viability of cars. Fuel and electricity alike are non-sustainable energies. There are still no brands or companies trying to incorporate renewable and cheap energy sources for cars–like solar power.

Solar-powered cars are electric cars that use solar panels attached to the cars to charge their batteries. No solar cars have reached production yet. Why aren’t there solar-powered cars in the market? Is it even possible to have solar-powered cars?

You might have seen an RV with solar panels at least once. However, they’re not used to power the car but the appliance inside it. These RVs are not even electric vehicles; they still run on petrol.

Currently, the technology used in converting solar energy to electric energy is still not enough to power a car. A 100-watts solar panel that receives 8 hours of sunlight can only produce 1 kWh per day, while an average electric car uses 34 kWh of electricity per 100 miles.

This means that even though you try to charge a current electric car with a solar battery, you might be able to run for a couple of kilometers only.

Aside from this, space is still a problem installing solar panels on cars. Sure enough, an RV or a bus can have solar panels on their roofs and generate a considerable amount of energy, but that’s not the case with cars. Aside from the limited roof space, the proximity of the solar panels to the actual passengers inside the car also poses a risk.

In short, purely solar-powered cars are still impossible today. However, the rapid development of automotive technology might achieve it in the future.

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