The inconspicuous Sono House is hidden in a Milbertshofener backyard in Munich. There are two cars in the sparse functional building: the first Sono prototype and the latest test vehicle with a length of 4.50 meters. Hopefully the word “up-to-date” only describes an interim result, because the processing of the five-door model, which is only available in black, is third-world-class. Never mind, it’s enough for a first test drive. So go on, around the block and across the commercial park until the narrow tires squeal. First impression: drives, brakes, steers.
“Our car is an affordable commodity that has to work and last a long time,” says Sales Director Thomas Hausch, who previously worked for Chrysler, Mercedes and Nissan. In fact, the car is visually reminiscent of the purist Fiat Uno, but has more space inside. Two displays of different sizes sit enthroned on the instrument panel – garnished with a bright green moss cushion. Nice, this form of air purification. The second special feature of the Sion can be seen on the right monitor: a pictogram shows the proportion of the 248 darkly shimmering solar panels in the battery’s state of charge. The collectors should add an average of 16 kilometers a day to this.
Solar cells also for boats, trains and mobile homes
Solar cells as all-round planking did not exist in the automotive industry before – only experience will show how the system copes with the gray European winter. Nevertheless, Thomas Hausch expects a lot from Sono’s expertise in collectors: as a second source of income in the form of license income and applications for third parties, for example for boats, trains or mobile homes: “Our cells are two thirds lighter than glass and thanks to the polymer coating less sensitive to temperature fluctuations and mechanical stress. ” In addition, the cells would not splinter in the event of a light impact, but would only be dented. “The much shorter production cycles – 30 seconds instead of 20 minutes – also result in a substantial cost advantage.” Compared to commercially available panels, Sono promises almost four times more efficiency.
Two screens and a moss bench contribute to the entertainment and well-being of the passengers in the Sion.
(Photo: Sono Motors)
In the case of the battery, the developers have stepped up at the customer’s request: Instead of the previous 35, the iron phosphate cells should now have a capacity of 54 kilowatt hours (kWh), which in practice corresponds to a range of a good 300 kilometers. 35 minutes should be enough to go from five to 80 percent charge level. “If the weather cooperates, one charge is enough to drive 1000 kilometers,” says the head of sales happily and adds: “The concept is really well received. We have collected reservations worth more than 300 million euros – that’s a third of the first Annual production. The Sion will make its way. Where else can you find a car that can bunker a maximum range of 245 kilometers per week using solar energy alone? “
The cars should be in use around the clock
The start-up also wants to generate income with its sharing app. Because most of the streets in large cities like Munich are parked up to the sidewalk, Sono wants to keep his cars moving around the clock as much as possible. You can reserve the entire vehicle, team up for single trips or split the electricity costs. Extrapolated, an average of twelve people should share a car, which reduces costs for the user by up to 85 percent and increases occupancy by up to 150 percent. Nice side effect for the company: By 2025, car sharing is expected to generate revenues of 295 million euros.
The design of the vehicles was also a joint effort. By majority vote, around 15,000 participants voted for the body color black, chose silver rims, determined the charging capacity and the wallbox design. The company currently employs 230 people, but the workforce is expected to grow to 875 by the time production starts up in two years’ time. Production is expected to take place in the former Swedish Saab plant in Trollhättan, around 75 kilometers north of Gothenburg. The factory was taken over by the Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (NEVS) in July 2020. The NEVS has just had to lay off hundreds of employees because of financial problems at its Chinese holding company. This could also jeopardize the contract manufacturing of the Sion, which is expected to find 275,000 customers.
What if NEVS goes under too? “In any case, we will remain true to our concept,” promises co-founder Laurin Hahn. “That means outsourcing the production, a unit price of 25,000 euros and, thanks to direct marketing, hardly any sales costs.” Bosch services and independent workshops are planned as service partners, whereby light work can be done in-house. If the start of series goes as planned.