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10,000 Preorders of First Mass Produced Solar Electric Vehicle

May 08, 2019 by Paul Shepard

The mobility provider Sono Motors announced that 10,000 reservations have already been placed throughout Europe more than one year before the start of production. The number of people interested in purchasing the first series production solar electric vehicle (SEV) has doubled since last June. Around 87 percent of these preorders were placed in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland); overall, there are potential buyers in more than 20 countries worldwide. The vast majority of these potential buyers are private individuals as opposed to commercial customers and sales partners.

Power is where you park it. Thanks to 248 solar cells seamlessly integrated into the body, the Sion can charge its battery during the day through the power of the sun. In Germany, for example, up to 34km of additional range per day can be generated purely by solar energy. Full self-sufficiency on short distances.

The Sion's liquid cooled battery has a capacity of 35kWh, which enables you to drive 250 kilometers on a single charge - depending on the weather and your driving style. The perfect range for everyday use.

It usually takes 30 minutes to charge up to 80% at a rapid charging station. Additionally, the Sion can be recharged at any public charging station in Europe, including your regular power socket at home - or any other Sion. Thanks to a bidirectional onboard-charger, the Sion will be able to share its power to recharge other electric vehicles.

Thanks to biSono, the bidirectional charging technology, you can use your Sion as mobile energy storage wherever you are. While camping, on the construction site, or simply at home. A regular household plug can be used to power all common electronic devices with up to 3.7kW. The car can deliver even more power when using a Type 2 plug, powering high-voltage devices with up to 11kW.

Offering 120kW (163HP) in connection with a single-speed transmission, the three-phase synchronous motor makes sure you will always enjoy driving the Sion with up to 140km/h. The maximum powertrain’s operating voltage is 400Vdc. With a towing capacity of maximum 750kg, you can tow small trailers with no problem.

In addition to price, range, and charging infrastructure, which are perceived by consumers to be the biggest obstacles to electromobility, the SEV's forward-looking concept particularly addresses the issues of climate protection and resource conservation as well as the need to reduce vehicle numbers. Globally, there have been around 79 million new vehicle registrations per annum since 2017. With the sharing options included in the standard setup, a Sion can potentially replace an average of fifteen conventional vehicles, thereby contributing significantly to solving this problem.

"In preordering the Sion, ten thousand people have made a clear commitment to climate-friendly and sustainable mobility," says Jona Christians, CEO and founder of Sono Motors. "A desire for responsibility toward the environment unites us with all these people. We believe in a world in which every vehicle is powered electrically and is shared. This is the vision that drives us," he adds.

The idea of initiating change together with others is at the very heart of Sono Motors. The company continues to offer the community to have a stake in Sono Motors and therefore also in its growth and success by means of crowd investing. Traditional market research is replaced by community feedback, which then flows into the vehicle's development. In addition, community voting give prospective buyers the opportunity to decide on the design characteristics and features of the vehicle, including vehicle and wheel color, charging options and the number of seats in the vehicle.

The SEV will be manufactured in Sweden by the SAAB successor company National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). It will be produced exclusively using renewable energies and production is set to commence in the second half of 2020.