End February 2023 Sono Motors has discontinued development of the Sion solar car. 250 employees were laid off. The money paid in advance by customers for reservations – around 50 million euros – was to be refunded as part of a repayment plan. After failing to find a source of financing for the repayment, the company had to file a Application for protective shield under insolvency law Meanwhile, the US-listed parent company Sono Group NV has filed an application for self-administration with the responsible Munich District Court.
Financing until the end of 2024
The Munich-based company now announces the signing of an investment deal, subject to approval, with YA II PN, Ltd. ('Yorkville'), which is intended to enable the company to restructure, terminate the self-administration proceedings that have been ongoing since May 2023, and continue its solar integration business. Subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent, this transaction will enable Sono Motors to obtain sufficient financing for its business operations until at least the end of 2024. The closing of the agreements with Yorkville and the termination of the insolvency proceedings are currently expected for the end of January 2024. Jan Schiermeister, Head of Technology at Sono Motors, says:
"The last few months have been challenging, but also incredibly educational, for everyone at Sono Motors. Now it's time to turn what we've learned into success. Our experienced team is eager to continue working on our vision and has grown even closer together over the past few months. We believe the agreement with Yorkville gives us the opportunity for a promising new beginning."
“Strengthened together”
The company's relaunch will be accompanied by a complete restructuring of Sono Motors's management. Furthermore, following the signing of the investment agreement, all employees laid off at the end of October were offered re-employment, which the majority of the workforce has already accepted.
"For me, this great willingness to return is a clear sign of an extraordinarily high level of motivation and commitment. These employees are the backbone of Sono Motors, and I am firmly convinced that we will all emerge stronger together from the expected conclusion of the self-administration process,"
Schiermeister continued.
Sono Motors now wants to focus on the market launch of the Solar Bus Kits, a solar retrofit solution for diesel and electric buses to reduce their CO2-Emissions significantly reduced. In addition, the Munich-based company intends to further advance the development and marketing of its solar integration technology.
