There have been solar powered cars for several decades now. The latest Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept has a solar panel system on the roof which tracks the position of the sun. The company claim it can draw power equal to a four-hour battery charge. Here is a photograph of the car;
Actually they are very common on motorhomes and campers, they are supplying power to the camper battery so the lights and electronics can be run without the engine running. This would also work in a van, particularly if someone likes to go camping.
I think that in some cases, it provides cooling while the van is parked.
Certainly it's not useful for providing power to run the van.
One practical use is to keep the battery charged if the vehicle isn't being regularly used.
What does it even do?
