Sono Sion solar electric car moves towards pre-series thanks to payment commitments worth more than 40 million euros
After some bad times recently, which even cast doubt on whether the Sono Sion solar electric car would be produced, it appears that it finally will be, and is on track to begin production. Sono Motors has reported that the Sono Sion has already accumulated more than 44,000 reservations.
The brand has also announced that it has more than 40 million euros worth of payment commitments, claiming that more than 8,000 people have participated in the #savesion campaign, either by making a new reservation for a Sion or by increasing their deposit. Currently, there are around 21,000 private reservations with deposit, some 22,000 B2B pre-orders and more than 1,000 new private reservations with deposit commitment.
This makes it possible for Sono Motors to achieve its target of around EUR 100 million gross in new or increased bookings, investments or other sources of funding in the coming weeks. Sono Motors CEO and co-founder Laurin Hahn said:
“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. Moreover, that a climate-friendly mobility revolution is needed and wanted in Europe.
At the same time, we believe that the sum of €40 million in new bookings sends a strong message to investors and we have received positive feedback since we announced the campaign. We are in ongoing discussions with potential investors and are confident that we will reach the target and proceed with the Sion programme. We need a final push, more opinion leaders to stand up and fight together for this revolution.”
Sono Motors subjected the Sono Sion to durability tests in Spain, which are being carried out at theApplus IDIADA test track. The tests, which include challenging road conditions, are equivalent to 150,000 km of customer use. After Spain, the Sono Sion also underwent a wide variety of driving cycles on test rigs in Sweden and Germany, exceeding the advertised WLTP range of 305 km.
Beyond durability testing, Sono Motors recently confirmed the Sion’s solar charging capability during an actual test in December, the month with the least amount of daylight in Europe. The car added 28 km of solar power per week. This test confirms the potential for an average annual solar range of 5,800 km in Europe.
Sono Motors successfully tested V2V charging technology, resulting in a bi-directional 8 kW AC charging output 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.
The company plans to have the first Sion pre-series vehicles built with series tooling at its production partner Valmet Automotive in Finland in the second half of 2023.
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