At a community event, the Munich-based mobility startup Sono Motors unveiled the production design of the Sion, the company's solar electric vehicle (SEV). Sono Motors also presented the new "Solar Bus Kit," a scalable product for companies or municipal public transport operators that can be retrofitted to reduce fuel consumption and inner-city greenhouse gas emissions.
"We are thrilled about Sono Motors's continued journey to enable clean, affordable, and accessible solar mobility for the masses. The production design debuts of the Sion and the Solar Bus Kit are a major step forward in realizing our vision of a sustainable world and our mission to reduce carbon emissions,"
says Laurin Hahn, Co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors.
New product in the Sono Solar business
"The production of our series validation fleet and the presentation of the Sion in production design are further steps toward fulfilling our promise of a cost-effective solar electric car. Furthermore, diversification through the development of our B2B solar business is another strategic pillar that will help us achieve our key goals. We are expanding our Sono Solar business with a new product and have successfully expanded our B2B customer base."
The Sion's production design features several changes compared to earlier development phases. For example, the exterior and interior feature fewer lines, and the revised exterior design of the Sion includes new headlights and taillights, a redesigned side profile, new door handles, a rear end with a camera and 3D lines, and a new tailgate. Inside, the Sion offers a clean interior with more storage space, redesigned front and rear seats, and a new steering wheel. New colors and materials in the interior round out the production design.
The Sion's outer skin consists of 456 solar half-cells and is designed to enable autonomous energy supply for short distances. The energy generated by the solar cells is expected to supplement the expected range of the 54 kWh LFP battery of 305 km by an average of 112 km (up to 245 km) per week. The battery also offers charging capacity of up to 75 kW (DC) and 11 kW (AC). Bidirectional charging technology complements the car's solar integration and is designed to transform the Sion into a sustainable power plant on wheels, capable of supplying electronic devices, the home, or other electric vehicles with up to 11 kW of power.
Production start as early as 2023
Sono Motors is currently manufacturing a fleet of series validation vehicles for the Sion test program, which has already begun, in Munich near its headquarters. Over the coming months, this vehicle generation will undergo practical testing under extreme conditions in both Europe and the USA. These include series validation, homologation, crash tests, testing in various climate zones, the optimization and validation of solar technology, and the refinement of driving dynamics on test tracks and public roads.
As of July 1, 2022, Sono Motors says it has received more than 19,000 private reservations for the Sion. The average down payment is €2,225. The Munich-based mobility startup is also pursuing an asset-light approach: Production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2023 with a contract manufacturer in FinlandThis eliminates the need to build their own production facilities. After a ramp-up phase, the partners aim to produce approximately 257,000 Sion vehicles within seven years.
Solar Bus Kit for retrofitting
In addition to the new product design, the Solar Bus Kit The kit was developed as a retrofit solution for bus fleet operators for the most common 12-meter bus types on the European market. The Solar Bus Kit is intended to enable systems such as the air conditioning system to be partially powered by renewable energy. This would save fuel, CO2, and costs.
"Our solar technology is already contributing to climate protection and the reduction of CO2 emissions with numerous partners. In Munich, for example, we are working with the city's public transport operators, thus supporting the city's air quality goals. Such partnership projects demonstrate the potential of our technology for the transport sector."
says Jona Christians, Co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors.
"We are proud to introduce our new solar product, the Solar Bus Kit. It takes our mission of equipping every vehicle with solar cells to the next level. The Solar Bus Kit enables us to intensify our solar business by optimizing the scalability of our technology for a huge market: the public and private bus sector. It is also a milestone on our journey to a fossil-free world."
