At a community event, Munich-based mobility startup Sono Motors unveiled the production design of the Sion, the solar electric vehicle (SEV) from the Munich company. Additionally, Sono Motors presented the new ‘Solar Bus Kit’, a scalable product for companies and municipal public transport operators, which as a retrofit solution can reduce fuel consumption and inner-city greenhouse gas emissions.
“We are very excited about the ongoing journey of Sono Motors to make clean, affordable, and easily accessible solar mobility available to the masses. The premieres of the Sion in production design 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 Sono’s solar business
“The production of our series validation fleet and the presentation of the Sion in production design are further steps on the way to fulfilling our promise of an affordable solar electric car. Moreover, diversification through the development of our B2B solar business serves as another strategic pillar in achieving our key objectives. We are expanding our Sono Solar business with a new product and have successfully enlarged our B2B customer base.”
Compared to earlier development phases, the Sion in its production design features several changes. For example, the exterior and interior have fewer lines, and the redesigned external design of the Sion includes new headlights and taillights, a newly designed side line, new door handles, a rear end with camera and 3D lines, and a new charging flap. Inside, the Sion offers a clearly designed interior with more storage space, newly designed front and rear seats, and a new steering wheel. New colors and materials in the interior round out the production design.
The Sion’s exterior skin consists of 456 solar half-cells and is designed to enable autonomous energy supply over short distances. The energy generated by the solar cells is expected to supplement the anticipated 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). The bidirectional charging technology complements the car’s solar integration and is designed to transform the Sion into a sustainable power plant on wheels that can supply electronic devices, homes, or other electric vehicles with power of up to 11 kW.
Production start already in 2023
Currently, Sono Motors is manufacturing a fleet of series validation vehicles in Munich near its headquarters for the already launched testing program of the Sion. In the coming months, this generation of vehicles will undergo practical testing under extreme conditions in both Europe and the USA. This includes series validation, homologation, crash tests, tests in various climatic zones, optimization of solar technology and its safety assurance, as well as refinement of driving dynamics on test tracks and public roads.
By July 1, 2022, Sono Motors has received more than 19,000 private reservations for the Sion, according to its own statements. The average down payment is €2,225. The Munich-based mobility startup is also pursuing an “asset-light” approach: Production is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023 with a contract manufacturer in Finland. This eliminates the need to build its own production facilities. After a ramp-up phase, the partners intend to produce around 257,000 Sion vehicles within seven years.
Solar Bus Kit for retrofitting
In addition to the new product design, the Solar Bus Kit was also unveiled. The kit was developed for the most common 12-meter bus types on the European market as a retrofit solution for bus fleet operators. The Solar Bus Kit is designed to allow systems such as air conditioning to be partially powered by renewable energy. This would save fuel, CO2, and costs.
“Our solar technology is already contributing to climate protection and CO2 reduction at numerous partners. In Munich, for example, we work with the municipal transport company and thus support the city’s air quality goals. Partnership projects like these 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 to equip 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 path to a world without fossil fuels.”
