Sono Motors, the German automaker hoping to make a splash with its electric vehicle with an integrated solar PV roof, has already received over 15,000 reservations for the Sion.
Unveiled earlier this year, the Sion is being billed as “the world’s first solar electric vehicle (SEV) for the masses” and at a price “you can really afford”.
And it seems that the appeal of the Sion, with its all-electric range of 255-kilometres that can be extended by up to 35-kilometres per day thanks to its integrated sunroof, is resonating with customers, already racking up 15,000 pre-orders.
The orders are secured with an average down payment $US3,300, and total order value for the Sion even before production has begun has reached $US385 million.
The Sion is currently priced at $US25,600 in the US and €21,400 in Europe, which converts to around $A33,000. However, Sono Motors is planning to increase the net price of the Sion to $28,600 (€23,900, or around $A37,000) either by November 15, or when reservations reach 16,000, depending on which happens first.
Pre-orders are heavily located in central Europe, mostly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but Sono Motors has also seen pre-orders come in from France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
In addition to the appeal of an integrated solar roof, the Sono Motors Sion also comes with a 120kW motor powering 270Nm torque and a maximum speed of 140km/h. The solar roof integrates 248 polymer solar panels and can generate up to 34-kilometres of electricity a day.
This means, according to Sono Motors, that the Sion will need to spend only a quarter of the time charging that a typical EV requires.
Since unveiling the Sion in January, Sono Motors has gone from strength to strength in developing partnerships to solidify its position moving forward.
In May, Sono Motors partnered with MAN Truck & Bus, one of Europe’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, in a partnership which will see the two companies investigate whether Sono’s solar technology can be integrated into MAN’s eTGE electric transporter.
This was followed up in September with a supply agreement for a fleet of 100 Sion solar cars designed to help provide energy and help balance the grid of the Netherlands’ fourth-largest city, Utrecht.
The Sion comes with its own vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities, and the deal will see 100 Sions operated by car-share company We Drive Solar given access to Utrecht’s 500 bidirectional chargers and using smart charging technology to manage the discharge of energy from their 54kWh batteries to help reduce grid instabilities.
The partnership is part of Utrecht’s aim of becoming the first metro city in Europe to combine V2G grid-balancing with car-sharing.
