What’s Happening: Sono Motors has signed a purchase order with a second passenger car manufacturer, which is among the world’s 10 largest. The order involves the delivery of solar body panels for one vehicle so that the manufacturer can explore solar integration into their cars. This is the second order from a passenger car manufacturer that Sono Motors has received, after the first one in December last year. The company now has 25 customers and partners for its solar technology, a significant increase from the ten partners it had at its IPO 15 months ago.
Why It Matters: Sono Motors has developed solar power electronics for high-voltage automotive use cases, such as passenger cars. Its unique manufacturing method allows for the seamless integration of solar cells into polymer for use on the exterior of a passenger vehicle. Solar charging offers greater convenience for vehicle owners, reduces dependency on battery charging infrastructures, and lowers running costs compared to ordinary BEVs. Car manufacturers and fleet operators can use the company’s proprietary technology to retrofit existing vehicles or for new production vehicles to extend the range of BEVs or to comply with emission regulations.
Key Points:
- Sono Motors believes it is at the forefront of the industry with its proprietary polymer-based solar technology for passenger vehicles.
- The company sees a trend in the industry moving towards solar integration into vehicles.
- It believes that the steep increase in electric vehicle sales and the slower increase in charging stations will create a bottleneck for adopting electric vehicles on a larger scale.
- The company intends to focus on retrofitting and integrating its solar technology into third-party vehicles in four core industries: passenger vehicles, buses, refrigerated vehicles, and recreational vehicles.
- It is scaling up its technology, introducing the next generation of its retrofit solution for cleaner public transportation, the “Solar Bus Kit.”
Bottom Line: Sono Motors has signed a purchase order with a second passenger car manufacturer, indicating the increasing interest in solar integration into vehicles. Its solar technology allows for greater convenience for vehicle owners, reduces dependency on battery charging infrastructures, and lowers running costs. The company intends to focus on retrofitting and integrating its technology onto third-party vehicles in four core industries and is currently scaling up its technology.
