With the campaign #savesion, the Munich-based company tried until the end to find new reservations and investors for the electric car with solar panels. Sono Motors has now announced that the plan has failed and the Sion car is being discontinued. Instead, the company now wants to focus on B2B business. Sono offers solar technology for retrofitting and integration into third-party vehicles.
“The restructuring is a decisive step in the development of Sono Motors,”
says Laurin Hahn, co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors.
“Although we had to discontinue our original passion project with the Sion program, shifting our entire focus to B2B solar solutions gives us the opportunity to continue developing innovative products in the solar industry. Despite more than 45,000 reservations and pre-orders for the Sion, we were forced to respond to the ongoing instability of the financial markets and streamline our business. This decision was not easy for us.”
End of Sion: 300 employees must leave
The company now plans to lay off approximately 300 employees, including COO Thomas Hausch. He says:
“Unfortunately, my role at Sono Motors to build the first affordable solar electric car is coming to an end. I am personally convinced that we will see many SEVs (Solar Electric Vehicles, ed. note) on the road sooner or later, even without the Sion. The company and the founders will continue to pursue the vision of a world without fossil fuels, even with the new focus. That gives me hope for the future.”
Money already paid for vehicles will be refunded in several installments starting in May 2023.
