The solar car Sion from the Munich company Sono Motors is mass-produced. Now the final design is finally set. The optics are rather conservative, the price promising.
Take a closer look: the solar modules are distributed over the entire body of the Sono Motors Sion. (Source: manufacturer)
- From 2023, the Sion developed in Germany by Sono Motors will go into series production.
- The solar car should be particularly cheap with a starting price of around 30,000.
- The more than 450 solar modules should generate 112 “free kilometers” per week.
The Munich-based company Sono Motors wanted to bring the solar car Sion onto the market five years ago. Nothing came of it. A crowdfunding campaign was launched that threatened bankruptcy. The turbulent times at Sono Motors do not seem to be over yet – in the summer the manufacturer finally presented the final design of the debut plant Sion.
The originally targeted price of “under 16,000 euros” has now been moved away. Now there is talk of a higher sum. With an estimated net sales price of 25,126 euros, “the Sion is expected to have one of the lowest TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) in the mid-size segment as the company’s solar technology significantly reduces the number of charging processes required,” according to a company press release.
Sono Motors Sion in pictures
But the range generated by the solar cells is also lower than communicated years ago. A range of around 110 kilometers generated by solar energy should be available. A battery with a capacity of 54 kilowatt hours is installed in the purely electrically powered Sion, which should enable a total range of up to 400 kilometers. If you want, you can use the bidirectional charging technology to supply your own house with battery power in emergencies.
According to the manufacturer, who wants to mass-produce its solar car with the help of a Finnish partner from next year, the body of the electric van is equipped with 456 seamlessly integrated solar half-cells, which should enable autonomous energy supply over short distances.
Already many pre-orders
According to Sono Motors, by July 2022 it had recorded more than 19,000 private reservations for the solar car, each of which made a down payment of 2,225 euros.
The look of the family-friendly solar car is conventional, in contrast to the two solar cars from Aptera and Lightyear.
Don’t miss anything with the NETWORK-Newsletter
Every Friday: The most informative and entertaining summary from the world of technology!