Sono: Only retrofits instead of Sion
SCHADE The young German company Sono Motors has decided to focus exclusively on solar technology for B2B customers. The Sion electric car will not be built.
Munich-based solar mobility solutions provider Sono Motors announced its decision to restructure its business model after lengthy negotiations with potential investors and vehicle customers. In the future, the company intends to focus exclusively on retrofitting and integrating solar technology into third-party vehicles. At the same time, the Sion program will be discontinued with immediate effect.
New products for the solar industry
Sono's solar solutions, consisting of hardware and software, are already being used by 23 business partners in Europe, Asia and the U.S. and are being tested in many cars, buses, refrigerated vehicles and RVs. As the Sion program was very resource-intensive, the company is now implementing significant savings measures.
Laurin Hahn, co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors, said, "Even though we had to discontinue our original heart project with the Sion program, shifting our entire focus to B2B solar solutions provides us with the opportunity to continue developing innovative products in the solar industry."
Funding by European Union
Sono Motors' development partners include Mitsubishi Europe, Chereau and the two VW subsidiaries Scania and MAN Truck & Bus. The potential of Sono Motors' technology is illustrated not only by these partnerships, but also by the European Union.
In January, Sono secured €1.46 million in funding from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency CINEA to advance the development of its proprietary solar technology.
