In December 2020 we accomplished another funding milestone. Despite a year full of global challenges, we succeeded in securing another funding round. With 45 million euros of investment by Swedbank Robur and DNCA Invest and some other investors, we have created further prerequisites for series production.
We looked back on an exciting year. Together with our community on YouTube. During the event, we looked back at the year 2020 and explained how we have mastered the challenges posed by the pandemic, especially with regard to the completion of the prototypes. We also gave exciting insights into the production of our new generation of prototypes.
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!
At a time of ever-increasing equipment variations, we focus on the essentials in the cockpit of the Sion, namely functionality, intuitive operation, user-friendliness, and connectivity. The Sion interior design takes into account the diversity of the vehicle’s usage with an appropriately robust and hard-wearing interior. Innovative design highlight: our organic Iceland moss ensures a pleasant indoor climate and ideally complements our climate-friendly overall concept.
In June last year we reached our milestone of 5,000 reservations. Today, almost one year later, this number has doubled. Together with us, ten thousand people are setting a sign with their reservation of the Sion – for a responsible treatment of our planet and climate-friendly mobility. Thank you for your support!
Together with NEVS we manufacture the first series-produced SEV (Solar Electric Vehicle) at the former SAAB plant in Trollhättan, Sweden. With NEVS, we have found a partner who shares our vision of sustainable, climate-friendly mobility. The Sion is produced exclusively with electricity from renewable energy sources.
The announcement of the series design was one of our most important milestones this year. A feature that shapes the design: full-surface integration of the solar modules into the bodywork. In the series vehicle, the solar cells will meld seamlessly into the vehicle's surface and can generate up to 35 kilometers of additional range a day. Compared to the prototypes, the series version of our Solar Electric Vehicle (SEV) will be larger, longer and wider – for more interior space and comfort. Additional rear side windows ensure optimal all-round visibility.
We started the new year with the announcement of a new partnership. Bosch, the leading automotive supplier, supports us in integrating our intelligent mobility services into the Sion. All data connections of our vehicle as well as the automatic emergency call service eCall are controlled by the Connectivity Control Unit (CCU) from Bosch.
Continental, the world’s second largest automotive supplier, is partnering with Sono Motors to build the Sion’s motor. In addition to the motor, the Sion’s drive unit consists of the power electronics and the transmission. Their integration into a single system unit reduces the size and weight of the drive system, thereby boosting the vehicle’s performance. The Sion’s range of 255 kilometers WLTP has also been confirmed in simulations.
In 2017 and 2018, more than 13,000 test drives in 7 countries and more than 61 cities were completed with the Sion.
Over 5,000 reservations from more than 30 different countries! In just two years, the idea and vision of three friends has grown into a community of inspired people. Together we’ve demonstrated what a vision can create when you have the will for it.
After announcing our battery manufacturer in May 2018, we had the pleasure of announcing our partnership with Automotive Solutions Germany GmbH (ASG), a specialist in the development and series production of automotive lighting systems, at the beginning of June.
On May 9, we started a new chapter in Sono Motors’ history with the announcement of our battery supplier for series production. Together with the established automotive supplier ElringKlinger, we’re developing and manufacturing the Sion’s beating heart – its battery – in Germany.
On July 27, it was time. Time to finally present the Sion – an innovative, cost-effective electric car for daily use – to the world. Almost 700 supporters as well as guests from politics, the media, and industry joined us for the event. The atmosphere was unbelievable. Reports in the media all around the world jump-started preorders, which soared unimaginably the same evening.
Your opinion counts. We asked for your feedback in multiple online surveys and received scores of suggestions and ideas for the Sion’s further development. Our team burned the midnight oil on more than a few occasions as they incorporated your wishes and suggestions into the CAD model. We’re hoping to present the results at a large release event.
We did it! Together with well-known partners in the automotive industry, we succeeded in developing two fully functioning prototypes in just seven months. We’re extremely proud! A feat made possible thanks to our fantastic team.
It was unbelievable! We managed to raise over €820,000 through our crowdfunding campaign while newspapers, blogs, and magazines all around the world reported on us in detail. Thanks to your incredible support, we dared to take the next step and construct the first Sion prototype.
We established Sono Motors together with Navina in 2016. Navina contributed the design aspect to our then small team, giving Sono Motors a recognizable face. Our name, our logo, and, most significantly, our crowdfunding campaign are all the product of Navina. Thank you, Navina!
We launched our project in Jona’s garage: the construction of a pre-prototype to prove that mobility can work differently and that renewable energies can be a solution to conserve finite resources, such as oil, and protect the environment. We wanted to demonstrate to the world that it is technologically possible to integrate solar cells into a car and use solar energy to generate extra range. Day and night, we worked on our car – our vision. And then the time had come. Our pre-prototype was working. It drove its first few meters, and the feeling was indescribable!
It all started with one critical phone call in which we, Jona and Laurin, discussed the wastefulness of oil consumption. There’s barely a resource more polarizing than oil. In spite of this, our mobility is still responsible for 61 percent of overall oil consumption – even though there are already alternatives available. This is why we decided to take matters into our own hands and bring about change.
