California-based startup Humble Motors has unveiled an all-electric concept SUV with a solar roof.

Known as the Humble One, Humble Motors have created a five-seat electric crossover that will eventually become “the world’s first solar-powered SUV”. The Humble solution is to allow people to travel an unprecedented distance without stopping at a charger station, using what is available in all parts of the world: the sun.

The all-electric vehicle features over 80-square-feet of engineered photovoltaic cells that capture sunlight and transform it into energy.

Currently, the Humble One is powered by conventional batteries, offering around 800km per charge. Given the 7.6 square metres of highly efficient solar cells on the roof, doors, windows and “fold-out solar array wings”, the company claims when the SUV is parked, it will recharge the battery generating enough electrical power “to increase driving range by 20+ miles / day, depending on where you live”.

With the internal battery, Humble Motors claims the Humble One could drive up to 500 miles without any sunlight.

Humble Motors, the tech company focused on developing solar electric vehicles, was founded in 2020 by a team that includes an award-winning Formula 1 race car designer, a physicist engineer who was the Head of Fuel Cells at Ford, and a tech entrepreneur.

Humble Motors founder Dima Steesy said: “We think solar is the future of mobility and that solar-powered electric vehicles are the clear next step to tackling carbon neutrality in the transportation ecosystem.

“Our concept SUV is designed to be liberating and grid-independent. Solar-powered electric vehicles leapfrog the grid.”

Production of the Humble One starts in 2024. The price of Humble One is $109,000 excluding tax and options.

Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyle including sustainable and green living.