The Solar Car That Charges Itself While You Live Your Life Growing up, I always wondered: why can't cars just recharge themselves as we drive? Turns out, someone finally built exactly that.
Growing up, I always wondered: why can't cars just recharge themselves as we drive? Turns out, someone finally built exactly that.
Robert Hoevers and his team at Squad Mobility created a solar-powered city car that does something brilliantly simple—it charges itself. There's a solar panel on the roof that continuously feeds the battery whether you're parked at the grocery store, sitting in your driveway, or cruising around town.
The engineering is impressive, but the user experience is even better. For most people living in sunny climates—anywhere between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south latitude (roughly Spain to South Africa)—you'll never need to find a charging station. Ever.
Here's the reality: the average person drives about 12 kilometers a day for daily errands. School runs, grocery shopping, meeting friends. The Squad solar car has a 150-kilometer maximum range, and the sun replenishes what you use. You just drive it, park it, and forget about charging infrastructure entirely.
This is what smart urban mobility looks like. It's street legal with proper crash structures, seat belts, and rollover protection. It tops out at 45 or 70 kilometers per hour depending on which model you choose—fast enough for city streets, not built for highways. In Europe, you only need a moped license for the slower version.
The design sits somewhere between a golf cart and a Smart car, which makes perfect sense. Squad isn't trying to replace your family vehicle. They're solving the "second car" problem—those short daily trips where driving a massive SUV feels ridiculous.
The market is responding. Squad Mobility has over 5,300 pre-orders and secured 1.5 million euros in European subsidies. They're currently crowdfunding on Republic to bridge the final gap before production starts in about a year.
What surprised me most? Ten percent of their pre-orders come from American gated communities and golf cart neighborhoods. These communities already understand the value of compact, efficient vehicles for daily errands. Squad just made them solar-powered and street legal.
Yes, you need consistent sunlight. If you live in perpetually cloudy climates, you'll still need to plug in occasionally. But for millions of people in sunny regions tired of hunting for charging stations or paying electricity bills to charge their second car, Squad Mobility built the obvious solution that somehow nobody else did.
Sometimes innovation isn't about reinventing the wheel. It's about putting a solar panel on the roof and letting the sun do the work.
This is the future of urban mobility, and it's arriving next year.
Guest: Robert Hoevers, CEO of Squad Mobility
Host: Marco Ciappelli
Format: Brand Highlight Story (5-minute interview)
Topic: Solar-powered city car that charges itself
OPENING (0:00-0:30) Marco introduces the episode as a quick brand highlight, mentions he's always wondered why cars can't recharge as they go. Introduces Robert Hoevers, CEO of Squad Mobility.
PRODUCT EXPLANATION (0:30-2:00) Robert explains the Squad Solar City Car:
KEY QUOTE - Robert Hoevers: "For the average user, most people on earth, will be able to drive for the whole time, with their average usage without ever having to charge. You need enough sun to charge the vehicle. So the nearer to the equator you live, the more charging you will have from the sun."
INFRASTRUCTURE & DESIGN (2:00-3:00) Marco asks about charging infrastructure concerns with EVs. Robert confirms this solves that problem—the sun is the infrastructure. Marco notes it looks like a golf cart but more substantial.
KEY QUOTE - Marco Ciappelli: "I guess that's one of the big issues for people usually, electric car in general, even if now you can do for 450, 600 kilometers and so forth, is how do I recharge? There is not an infrastructure to do that."
SAFETY FEATURES (3:00-4:00) Marco raises safety concerns. Robert explains:
KEY QUOTE - Robert Hoevers: "It's a full street legal design. It has all the features that you would need from a vehicle like that, like crash structure in the front, structure in the rear seat, seat belts, rollover protection, everything that you would need from a vehicle like that."
LICENSE REQUIREMENTS (4:00-4:30) Marco asks about driver's license. Robert clarifies:
CURRENT STATUS & FUNDING (4:30-5:30) Marco asks where they are in development. Robert shares:
KEY QUOTE - Robert Hoevers: "We have quite a substantial European subsidy, it's around one and a half million euros. And we're topping that up with a crowdfunding program that we're currently running on Republic. We need another year to go into production."
CLOSING (5:30-6:00) Marco notes the need for compact second cars, especially in European cities. Robert confirms it's positioned as a second car solution. Marco encourages viewers to check the website and participate if interested. Invites Robert back for updates as production approaches.
KEY QUOTE - Marco Ciappelli: "Coming from Europe myself, you want a small car to go downtown in the small city. It's like a second car, you know? Exactly. It's a second car you can get to go around."
KEY QUOTE - Robert Hoevers (Agreement): "It's like a second car, you know?"
KEY QUOTE - Marco Ciappelli: "I encourage everybody to check the website. Of course, if they find it interesting, they can participate in the project. And I wish you the best luck for that. And hopefully I'll have you back again for an update maybe a year from now."
Conversational, enthusiastic, informative. Marco genuinely excited about the concept. Robert clear and factual without being overly technical.