So far, Sono Motors, a German company that makes the Sion solar car, has raised 47 million euros. This was done as part of a campaign to raise money for the company that needs cash. #savesion is the name of the campaign, which began on December 8, 2022.
The campaign to raise more money will run until February 28, and the company says that in the meantime, it will keep talking to potential investors. Sono Motors says the plan is working because $47 million has been raised from 8,600 people in the community and other places. The company thinks the long campaign will eventually help them reach their goal of 100 million euros. So more than 50 million euros will have to come in during the next month. The European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency gave Sono Motors 1.46 million euros not long ago.
Sono Motors says that the fact that the community is getting involved shows that there is once again an apparent market demand for the Sion solar electric car. The company says that "thousands of phone calls, emails, and personal contacts with the community" help them decide. There are more than 44,000 orders right now, including 21,000 private reservations with deposits, 1,500 new private reservations with deposit commitments, and 22,000 business orders that are not legally binding.
During this campaign, the German company also says it has made a lot of progress testing and validating the Sion. This week, Italy also began crash tests. The Sion should start preparing for series production in the summer of this year.
The company is currently making pre-production models of the Sion, an electric car that can be driven on public roads. However, Sono Motors says that they need more money to finish developing the car and put it into production. The company said that investors are hesitant to put money into it because of how the financial market is now. The energy crisis and pandemic would have also hurt the company's ability to stay in business.
Sono Motors said on December 8, when the campaign began, it would have to stop making the Sion solar car if it didn't get more money. If this car doesn't work out, the company wants to keep going and work on other solar energy products, like working with bus manufacturers to put solar cells on the roofs of electric buses.
The Sion solar electric car costs 29,900 euros, making it a relatively cheap solar car, especially compared to the now-canceled Lightyear 0 and the Lightyear 2, which was supposed to cost 40,000 euros. The Sion is an electric MPV with many solar panels on the roof, hood, and doors. Sono Motors says these could get you an average of 112 km per week. The car also has a 54 kWh battery that gives it a range of 305 km, supports charging in both directions and can be charged to 80 percent in 35 minutes. @via EV stories.
