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Solar car Sion: Sono Motors shows the final design of the German e-car

Solar car Sion: Sono Motors shows the final design of the German e-car

It is said to be the “world’s first low-cost solar electric car”. Developed in Munich, built in Finland. The Sion from Sono Motors is scheduled to roll off the assembly line in the second half of 2023, at a price of around 30,000 euros. 257,000 vehicles are planned by the end of the decade – 19,000 Sions have already been reserved without obligation.

Sion refuels 16 kilometers a day – through sunlight

The manufacturer presented the finished series design of the Sion at an event. It quickly becomes clear: It’s not a visual treat, but it’s a novelty. Because the body consists of 456 integrated solar half-cells, some of which are supposed to supply the car with electricity. Sono Motors speaks of using the power of the sun to achieve an average weekly range of 112 kilometers. According to the explanation, in cities this means that the Sion has to be parked up to four times less often than is the case with conventional electric cars.

The vehicle’s battery has a capacity of 54 kilowatt hours and is said to have a range of over 300 kilometers on one charge. And if the car isn’t being driven, the Sion is available as a “sustainable power plant”, enabling bidirectional charging to charge electronic devices, houses or other electric vehicles.

The car itself is trimmed for everyday usability. This is revealed by the easily accessible storage space and the large amount of space that is offered in the otherwise rather sparse interior. In addition to two screens and a steering wheel, only the moss panel provides some relaxation in the otherwise very spartan vehicle.

In the next step, the Munich-based company wants to build a fleet of so-called series validation vehicles that are needed for the many test programs and approval processes. According to the company, the next few months will consist primarily of testing, optimization and fine-tuning.

Sono Motors actually wanted to deliver in 2017

As soon as the Sion rolls off the assembly line, it has a long journey behind it. It all started with a crowdfunding campaign through the “” platform that the company launched in 2016. At that time, the founders still intended to build a vehicle for less than 16,000 euros – and to charge the battery up to 30 kilometers a day using solar cells. Delivery was supposed to start in 2017 – nothing came of that.

The second attempt in 2019 also fell through, and Sono Motors was still threatened with insolvency in October 2021. The company was ultimately rescued through an IPO, even though the share price is currently at a low of EUR 2.68.

It remains exciting to see whether Sono Motors will manage to keep to the schedule this time and supply the numerous (apparently suffering) customers.

source:

Source: Stern

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