CARS OF THE WORLD

Sono Sion 2024-2025.

The people’s solar car Sono Sion has been shown in production form. They promised not to raise the price.

German electric car startup Sono Motors has presented the final design of a five-seat electric compact car Sion with solar charging capability.

Its production will start in the second half of 2023 at the Finnish plant Valmet.

Sono Motors has been developing its people’s solar car Sion since 2016, the serial production was planned to start in 2019, but due to lack of funding, the COVID-19 pandemic and a change of production partner, the launch date has been postponed several times.

The Sono Sion is called a people’s car because of its relatively low price (from 25,126 euros in Germany) and because money for its development was raised through crowdfunding, among other means.

Yesterday, Sono Motors unveiled the final design of the Sion. It features slightly more angular body proportions, new headlights, lights, bumpers, sills, door handles and a charging hatch.

The interior is redesigned with new seats, steering wheel and center tunnel with organizer, new trim colors (they are now lighter).

Luckily, the built-in natural moss air filter with LED lighting in the front panel has been retained and is included as standard equipment.

Overall length of Sono Sion is 4470 mm, width — 1830 mm, height — 1660 mm, wheelbase — 2830 mm, ground clearance — 165 mm.

The volume of the trunk — 650 liters, with the folded back seat — 1250 liters.

The exterior, mass-painted plastic body panels include 456 solar panels, which give up to 35 km of extra mileage per day in ideal clear weather and about 16 km in average European weather.

The powertrain is a single three-phase synchronous electric motor on the front axle with a maximum output of 120 kW (163 hp) and 270 Nm, mated to a single-speed gearbox and fed by a 54 kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery integrated into the floor.

A full charge of the battery excluding the «solar» bonus is enough for 305 km of travel on the WLTP cycle.

The maximum constant current charging capacity is 75 kW, the maximum regenerative power of the engine is 50 kW.

The front suspension is of the McPherson type, the rear suspension is semi-independent, with a transverse torsion beam.

Curb weight of the electric car is 1730 kg, gross weight — 2180 kg. Up to 100 km/h Sono Sion accelerates in 9 seconds, the maximum speed is limited at 140 km/h.

For the sake of cheaper production, the Sono Sion will be sold in a fixed configuration.

It includes four airbags, ESP, climate control, cruise control, heated front seats, a folding rear seat (60/40), Isofix child seat mounts, digital dashboard, multimedia 10-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, audio system with six speakers, single USB-C port, rearview camera, rear parking sensors, LED «optics», steel wheels, all-season tires size 205/60 R 16 and repair kit with sealant instead of the spare.

The price in Germany of 25,126 euros takes into account government subsidies for electric cars; without them, the Sono Sion has a retail price of 29,900 euros.

By comparison, the Vokswagen ID.3 electric hatchback costs 38,060 euros in Germany without subsidies after a recent rise in price amid inflation.

Sono Motors intends to keep the price at that level until production of the Sion begins.

But they still have to wait for production, it will begin in the second half of 2023. Sono Motors contract with Valmet is calculated for 7 years and provides production of 257 000 cars.

By the way, the assembly of more expensive (250,000 euros) Dutch solar car Lightyear 0 will start here at Valmet next fall.

The next task of Sono Motors is to assemble a pilot batch of the Sion near the headquarters in Munich for the final tests, certification and crash tests.

The tests will take place both in Europe and in the USA, which means that Sono Motors has its sights set on the American market.