MUNICH, Germany – Solar mobility OEM Sono Motors is making significant progress in the testing and series-validation program of its solar electric vehicle Sion, and is technologically on a fast track to pre-series production, which is planned in summer 2023. Over 8,000 people have already participated in the ongoing #savesion campaign, by either placing a new reservation for a Sion or increasing their deposit.
As of today, the more than 44,000 Sion reservations include ~21,000 private reservations with deposit, ~22,000 non-binding B2B pre-orders and more than 1,000 new private reservations with deposit commitment made in the course of the #savesion campaign. The Company therefore has already received payment commitments from its Community worth over €40m, to decrease the funding gap until pre-series production. This support is making it conceivable that Sono Motors achieves its target of about €100m gross in new or increased reservation deposits, investments, or other sources of funding within the next few weeks.
“Several thousand supporters have already made this campaign one of the largest in Europe and are sending a clear signal that they want the Sion, an affordable alternative to bulky and expensive e-SUVs. Also, that a climate-friendly mobility revolution in Europe is both needed and wanted. At the same time, we believe the €40m sum in new reservations sends a strong message to investors and we have received positive feedback since announcing the campaign. We are in ongoing talks with potential investors and feel confident that we will reach the target and proceed with the Sion program. We need a final push, more thought leaders to stand up and fight for this revolution together,” says Laurin Hahn, CEO and co-founder of Sono Motors.
Durability Testing in Spain
Sono Motors’ affordable solar electric vehicle, Sion, recently completed handling and comfort suspension tuning and road load data acquisition, and is now undergoing durability testing in Spain. The Sion is being tested at the Applus IDIADA test track to complete the accelerated durability test cycle on the proving ground in various rough road conditions, equivalent to 150,000 km of customer usage. These tests will confirm the complete vehicle’s structural durability as part of the Sion’s extensive and uncompromising test program, currently involving 18 complete vehicles and several bodies-in-white in the U.S., Germany, Sweden, Italy, and Hungary.
Solar Charging Under Real-Life Winter Conditions Confirmed
Beyond the durability testing, Sono Motors recently confirmed the Sion’s solar charging capability during a real-life test in December, the month with the least amount of daylight in Europe. The car reached a calculated 28 km of pure solar range per week. Therefore, the Sion was already able to achieve 80% of the expected winter solar yield about a year ahead of planned production. This test, undertaken using a series-validation vehicle, confirms the potential for an average of 5,800 km annual solar range in Europe, thanks to the unique integration of the solar modules into the entire body.
3-Phase Bidirectional Charging Successfully Tested
Sono Motors successfully tested the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging technology using 3 phase at 13 amps with limited amperage during various test cycles. This resulted in a bidirectional charging output of 8 kW AC between a Sion and an unmodified series EV. By the start of production, the Sion is expected to be able to charge other devices with up to 11 kW AC.
