Sono Motors announced that 10,000 reservations have already been placed throughout Europe more than one year before the start of production of their solar electric vehicle, Sion. The number of people interested in purchasing the first series production solar electric vehicle (SEV) has doubled since last June. Around 87% of these preorders were placed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; overall, there are potential buyers in more than 20 countries worldwide, as the Munich based company reports. The vast majority of these potential buyers are private individuals as opposed to commercial customers and sales partners.
In addition to price, range, and charging infrastructure, which are perceived by consumers to be the biggest obstacles to electromobility, the SEV’s forward-looking concept particularly addresses the issues of climate protection and resource conservation as well as the need to reduce vehicle numbers. Globally, there have been around 79 million new vehicle registrations per annum since 2017. With the sharing options included in the standard setup, a Sion can potentially replace an average of 15 conventional vehicles, thereby contributing significantly to solving this problem, according to the company.
“In preordering the Sion, ten thousand people have made a clear commitment to climate-friendly and sustainable mobility,” says Jona Christians, CEO and founder of Sono Motors. “A desire for responsibility toward the environment unites us with all these people. We believe in a world in which every vehicle is powered electrically and is shared. This is the vision that drives us,” he adds.
The company continues to offer the community to have a stake in Sono Motors and therefore also in its growth and success by means of crowdinvesting. Traditional market research is replaced by community feedback, which then flows into the vehicle’s development. In addition, community votings give prospective buyers the opportunity to decide on the design characteristics and features of the vehicle, including vehicle and wheel colour, charging options and the number of seats in the vehicle. Europe-wide test-drive road shows allowed interested parties to experience the first Sion prototypes up close and get to know Sono Motors in direct dialogue.
The SEV will be manufactured in Sweden by the SAAB successor company National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). It will be produced exclusively using renewable energies and production is set to commence in the second half of 2020.
