Sono Motors reveals production-ready solar-powered automobile, unveils retrofit equipment for buses

Sono Motors has debuted the manufacturing design of its Sion, a battery-electric crossover that makes use of photo voltaic cells to generate electrical energy and prolong vary.

The Munich-based startup, which trades on the Nasdaq underneath SEV, pitches the Sion as “the world’s first reasonably priced photo voltaic electrical automobile.”

At a Munich occasion Monday, Sono additionally unveiled a photo voltaic equipment for diesel buses that transit providers can use to produce energy to subsystems corresponding to HVAC and cut back gasoline consumption and emissions.

However within the Sion, photo voltaic will assist refill the batteries that energy propulsion. The automobile options 456 solar half-cells that generate sufficient vitality so as to add about 70 to 150 miles per week to the vary, relying on climate and driving circumstances. It is sufficient solar energy to “allow self-sufficiency on quick journeys,” the corporate mentioned. The Sion’s 54-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery has an estimated vary of 189 miles.

Promoting level of photo voltaic

Supplementing the automobile with solar-generated energy supplies as much as 4 occasions extra vary than discovered on autos with the identical battery measurement, mentioned Laurin Hahn, co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors.

“That is the promoting level of photo voltaic,” he instructed Automotive Information.

The Sion’s battery has a most charging capability of as much as 75 kilowatts DC and 11 kW AC. Bidirectional charging enabled by the automobile’s photo voltaic panels permits powering of digital gadgets, a house and even different electrical automobiles at as much as an 11-kW output.

Sono is producing a fleet of validation automobiles in Munich. The corporate mentioned they’d be examined in Europe and the U.S. in numerous climates. The testing will cowl validation, homologation, crash security and enhancing the photo voltaic know-how and driving dynamics on take a look at tracks and public roads.

The Sion has an estimated value of about $26,000. Sono mentioned it had greater than 19,000 reservations for the automobile firstly of July, every with a median down fee of about $2,300. Manufacturing will begin within the second half of 2023, Hahn mentioned.

“We plan to provide 257,000 automobiles with Valmet Automotive, our contract producer that produces the Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLA,” Hahn mentioned.

Sono plans to market the Sion in Europe first.

“However there’s large potential in different markets, and we’ll quickly disclose them,” Hahn added.

Add-on for public transport buses

The corporate additionally has its eyes on larger automobiles. Its Photo voltaic Bus Package is an add-on for 12-meter public transport buses such because the Mercedes-Benz Citaro and MAN Lion City.

The equipment can save as much as almost 400 gallons of diesel and minimize CO2 emissions by as much as four tons per bus per 12 months when utilizing about eight sq. meters of photo voltaic panels, in line with Sono.

It “has a payback time of between three and 4 years, and these buses run for 10, 15, 20 years,” Hahn mentioned.

Sono is specializing in diesel automobiles first.

“We’re concentrating on a market of 10,000 automobiles for the following 10 years and the place we see large potential of saving fossil fuels,” Hahn mentioned.

The corporate has not launched pricing particulars for the equipment.

Sono is partnering with 19 corporations worldwide, together with MAN Truck & Bus and refrigerator-truck maker Cherea to implement its retrofit equipment on a wide range of automobiles, together with buses, trailers, vans and electrical transporters. It is also partnered with logistic large Rhenus to construct a prototype last-mile supply automobile with photo voltaic integration.

“There’s large potential in logistics,” Hahn mentioned. “They should transfer to zero emissions and are urgently searching for options. That is considered one of them.”