After building 37 series-proven prototypes and launching a comprehensive testing program, German automotive startup Sono Motors has now revealed the final production design of its upcoming Sion solar-powered electric passenger car and a solar add-on for its bus fleet.
Sion’s long road to production began with a garage project in Munich before Laurin Hahn and Jona Christians founded Sono Motors in 2016. later that year, the first renderings were released as part of an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, with a target price of just €12,000 for the city style , with a price of €16,000 for the long-range version.
The initial pre-order book opened in the middle of the following year. Development work continued apace, with exterior design images and interiors released in 2019. The company then debuted the gorgeous-looking Sion prototype at CES 2021, and recently began building a series of validation prototypes and test vehicles for testing on race tracks and public roads in Europe and the U.S. – including certification and crash testing.
Now, the final production design of the Sion solar electric vehicle has been unveiled in person and live at the Celebrate the Sun community event in Munich.
Some 456 photovoltaic half-cells will be seamlessly integrated into the exterior surfaces of the hood, roof and doors, which is expected to result in a range of 305 kilometers per charge, averaging 112 kilometers per week, including the 54 kWh LFP battery pack – although that number could rise to 245 kilometers, depending on local conditions.
“In metropolitan areas of Germany, commuters will charge their Sion four times less often than a conventional electric vehicle of similar battery size in the same class,” the press release reads.
The vehicle supports 75 kW of DC and 11 kW of AC charging capacity when drivers need to plug in. Two-way charging is also incorporated, allowing the vehicle to serve as a power source for electronic devices, homes or other electric vehicles with an output of up to 11 kW.
Elsewhere, the redesign includes fewer lines on the interior and exterior and sharper surfaces such as a more streamlined rear end with a new camera system and 3D lines, new headlights with a new charging cover in the middle, a fresh bottom edge design, reworked rear lighting and new door handles.
While the interior of the prototypes produced so far hasn’t looked particularly cluttered, the final production model is said to have a roomier, cleaner feel and more storage space. The intriguing moss-based natural air filtration system still takes center stage, but the front seats and rear bench are new, as is the steering wheel. And customers will get new interior surface colors and trim options.
Key performance specifications for the front-wheel drive vehicle – such as a 140km/h top speed, 270 Nm of torque and a 9-second 100km acceleration time – appear to be unchanged.
At the beginning of the month, Sono Motors has attracted around 19,000 active private bookings, with an estimated final net sales price point currently standing at €25,126. Batch production remains on schedule for the second half of 2023, and the company expects to increase production to approximately 257,000 units within seven years.
As mentioned earlier, Sono Motors made two announcements today. After conducting trials with transportation company Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG)), the company is now introducing a new solar bus kit that will thus add photovoltaic panels to the tops of the most common types of 12-meter buses on the European market – including the Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion City.
According to Sono, the kit is designed to help reduce the fuel costs of existing internal combustion engine buses by powering subsystems such as HVAC. With a maximum installation of about 8 square meters of solar panels at 1.4 kilowatts, each bus could potentially save 1,500 liters of diesel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 4 tons per year, according to the company.
But the company isn’t stopping at bus integration; it is reportedly currently working with 19 companies worldwide to implement its Sono solar technology on trailers, trucks and electric transport vehicles, among others.
