Vehicle exterior structure comprising solar cells and illumination elements

A vehicle exterior structure comprising:

• a solar panel having a layer structure including a base sheet that supports a layer of photovoltaic material,
• wherein the layer structure further includes a lower plastic film above the base sheet, an upper plastic film above the lower plastic film, and a covering layer above the upper plastic film;
• wherein the photovoltaic material is encased between the upper plastic film and the lower plastic film;
• wherein illumination elements are installed in one of the layers of the layer structure of the solar panel and the covering layer is a coating layer;
• wherein the photovoltaic material defines a plurality of openings, wherein the illumination elements are disposed in the openings;
• wherein the photovoltaic material is defined by a plurality of monocrystalline solar cells;
• wherein four solar cells have a contact area therebetween, wherein the contact area defines the opening in which the illumination element is disposed;
• and
• wherein the solar cells are arranged in series in a row and electrically contacted via contact strips, wherein an adjacent row is also arranged in series and electrically contacted via contact strips, wherein the illumination elements are interconnected in series and sit on a conduction strip.