Sono Motors – From a Garage to a Global Vision
Like all great ideas, Sono Motors started in a garage and grew. We believe in a world without fossil fuels in which every car is electric and shared. This is how we want to make it possible.
CES Spotlight Session: Trailblazing Mobility: Solar EV of the Future
Sono Motors is set to revolutionize electric mobility with the development of the first solar electric vehicle for the masses – the Sion. Sono Motors’ proprietary Solar technology is powering the transition to a sustainable future. Join Sono Motors’ founders and experts in a revealing discussion on how they are set to pave the way for electric mobility and witness a unique unveiling of their innovative solar technology.
Powered by the Sun and Community: The Solar EV You Can Own in the Future
We want to bring the Sion to the US streets in the future.
We are set to develop the first solar electric vehicle for the masses – the Sion. The Sion blends disruptive technology with affordability to enable individual contribution to global sustainability, and is on pace to pave the way to do what the original VW Beetle did to the automotive industry in the 1930's. Led by our vision of a world without fossil fuels, Sono Motors has been propelled by community support to become a leading solar EV developer.
We are thrilled to welcome you in our community! By submitting to our US mailing list, we will keep you updated and you will be one of the first to know when you can order your Sion in the future.
The Sion – Set to Be the First Affordable Solar EV
We are developing a forward-looking electric car that charges itself. 248 integrated solar cells make it possible to harvest energy from the Sun.
Sono Solar – Curved Solar Cells Instead of Paint
With our innovative technology, we want to create new possibilities for transportation. Through a unique, patented production process, our solar modules are precisely adapted to fit the unique shape of our vehicles.
Disrupting Mobility For A Better Future
Every day there is a chance to make a change. Now, it is our chance and we plan to seize it – by making a world where every car is electric and shared.
Sono Insights Live – Journey of 2020
Watch the subtitled recording of our YouTube event on December 10th, 2020!
Our Journey in 2020
A lot has happened in the past eleven months: the funding campaign, the corona pandemic, the development of the prototypes, many new and exciting partnerships; let's talk about that. Join us on our journey!
December 2020
Manufacturing Update: Prototypes On the Home Stretch
We are fully focusing on the manufacturing of the prototypes to complete production before the end of this year, as promised. In late October we provided the last update in this regard, so we thought you might like some new impressions. With the assembly of the wheels, the construction of the chassis is finished. What are our next and final steps? Read it here!
October 2020
News from Production: Prototypes Are Taking Shape
After three years, over 15,000 test drives in more than 50 cities and around 40,000 kilometers on the clock, we are sending the first generation of prototypes into retirement. Until the new prototypes are presented, test drives are no longer possible. To shorten the waiting time a little bit, we want to report on the current state of production of our prototypes. Already in a few weeks the new generation will see the light of day.
October 2020
"Key Technology for Future Mobility": Solar Integration in the Body of Electric Cars Is Being Prepared for Approval
Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, we are working on a project to test and certify solar integration into the body of electric vehicles. The approval process of the Sion, also called homologation, is to be accompanied by a recognized testing service provider. The cooperation will also show in which other application areas the technology could be certified.
September 2020
Park & Shine: Park the Sion in the sun and charge free solar energy
To make the best use of solar integration in the Sion, the vehicle should be parked in the sun. But is it worth it at all, or is all the energy generated needed for the air conditioning system to cool the interior? Our community has asked us this question. In this article Mathieu, Director of Photovoltaic Integration, and Christian, Engineer for Photovoltaic Power Electronics, explain in detail how the charging of the battery cells works and how much energy is needed to cool the interior.
August 2020
Finally on Tour Again! And an Update on Our 2020 Strategy
Jona, Laurin and some of the Sono team visited Cologne and Hamburg. With them, they took a lot of updates on the current state of our development. Today they are going to stop in Berlin, which is the third and final stop of this city tour. As always, we were very happy to see you and to listen to your questions, ideas and opinions. Due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, we were unfortunately only able to welcome a very small number of you on site and have therefore summarized the most important points of the tour below. At the end of the article you will also find a video of our event in Cologne.
July 2020
The Infotainment System: Simple Design and User Friendliness
In the early days of control concepts, there was an abundance of physical buttons. Today, it is possible to map a large part of the user interactions via displays, and the software can be regularly updated with new features. The art is to maintain a good balance between aesthetics, user-friendliness and ergonomics. Today, we would like to take a look at the development status of our infotainment system in the Sion – and introduce you to the team behind it.
June 2020
Roding Will Manufacture the New Sion Prototypes
Today we are pleased to announce that we have successfully handed over the CAD data for the production of the next prototype generation to our manufacturing partner Roding – another important step on the way to series production. Over the last few days, our colleague Julius has been in an intensive exchange with the project managers. He explains why we have again chosen Roding as our partner, why the timing for the prototype production was adjusted and what will be possible with the new prototypes.
June 2020
One Community, One Car: Insights From the First Sono App Pilot Project
The Sono mobility services are designed to make the Sion accessible to as many people as possible. They are the fundamentals of our holistic mobility concept. To validate our product and get early feedback, we have started an exciting pilot project together with a group of volunteers.
May 2020
An Update on the Development Status of the Solar Integration of the Sion
How do you integrate solar cells into an electric car? A simple question that requires complex solutions. Especially when the solar cells do not only cover the roof but also the rear, the doors, the fenders, and the hood. Our expert for photovoltaic power electronics, Christian, will tell you what kind of technical challenges the integration implies and why we had to develop a completely new type of voltage converter.
January 2020
Community Funding: Over 53 Million Euros
With more than 13,000 supporters and over 53 million euros, we have exceeded the goal of our community funding campaign to finance our next steps. In 50 days, an average of one million euros flowed into the campaign every day. Together with our supporters, we are sending a strong signal. Thank you!
