The Sion, a family car covered entirely with solar panels, should be mass-produced in the second half of 2023, the German start-up that manufactures it said last Monday during the presentation of its prototype in Munich. After years of development, Sono Motors is now building a fleet for testing and plans to start production next year at a Finnish manufacturer, Valmet.
With its black body, covered with 456 photovoltaic cells, and its autonomy of 305 kilometres, the Sion promises to garner enough energy each week to travel 112 kilometers on average. It also incorporates the Vehicle-to-Grid system (from the vehicle to the grid), which allows its battery to restore electricity to the network or to another car. With its 4.40 meters long and its average battery of 54 kWh, the Sion targets families, but also self-service fleets.
Sono Motors recorded 19,000 reservations with an average deposit of 2,225 euros, which financed the development of the model. Its final price is announced at 25,000 euros. The young brand plans to produce more than 250,000 in the next seven years. The small manufacturer also intends to sell its solar technology to others, such as the French group of refrigerated trailers Chéreau, and presented last Monday a solar “retrofit” system which makes it possible to add panels to buses to limit their consumption of diesel.
Like Sono Motors, a few start-ups, but also automotive giants like Toyota, have started installing solar panels on their new electric cars, promising a little extra range.
The Dutch from Lightyear are due to launch their O model at the end of 2022, with a range of 625 kilometers and a very high price, before an affordable version which might face the Sion from 2024-2025. The Californian start-up Aptera has 25,000 pre-orders for its first model scheduled for 2023, a small car with three wheels and two seats. Depending on the version, billed between 26,000 and 46,000 dollars, it displays between 400 and 1,600 kilometers of autonomy.
Source: AFP
The Sion, a family car covered entirely with solar panels, should be mass-produced in the second half of 2023, the German start-up that manufactures it said last Monday during the presentation of its prototype in Munich. After years of development, Sono Motors is currently building a test fleet and plans to start production…
