As of September 1, 2022, Sion claims to have over 20,000 reservations for its Sono Sion. It is the world’s first solar electric vehicle that is going for mass production. The company has received around 2,000 euros for each reservation.
Sono Motors also said that the asking price for the Sion is 25,126 euros. The German electric vehicle manufacturer believes that the Sono Sion would become the world’s first solar EV for the masses with this price tag. As the automaker dubs it, the Solar Electric Vehicle is expected to enter production in the second half of 2023. The production will be at Valmet Automotive’s facility in Finland. Further, the automaker stated that in the ramp-up period it aims to produce around 257,000 units of Sion EVs within seven years.
The specialty of Sono Sion is that every flat surface of this car comes equipped with solar panels, which is entirely different from the Genesis Electrified G80. It comes with a roof-mounted solar panel for electricity generation. The Sono Sion gets solar panels on the hood, the roof, the fenders, the quarter panels, and the hatch as well. Here, the front Fascia doesn’t come equipped with solar cells in an attempt to make the replacement cost cheap in case of an accident.
Features
According to Sono Motors, the Sion is equipped with a total of 456 solar cells, which is capable of generating enough electricity to power the vehicle to run 112 km distance on a single charge. The range could be double or more in areas where the sun frequents the sky, as stated by Sono Motors.
This solar EV has a 54 kWh battery pack that is powerful enough to propel the car up to305 km on a single charge. The EV maker has capped the charging capacity of this small battery at a mere 75 kW. It also capped the charging capacity for this small battery at a mere 75kW. It also comes with bidirectional charging technology that allows the car to turn into a mobile station with up to 2.7 kW power output.
The solar electric vehicle coming to production is a huge deal. Over the years, many models have been showcased, however, the process of bringing them to mass production has been delayed. In the era of sustainability and transition toward electric vehicles, having a Solar EV would mean a lot more changes in how the automobile industry advances. With the rate at which Sono aims to produce these vehicles, more solar EVs are expected to be on roads in the coming seven years.
