Bad news for the German electric car industry (and beyond): Sono Motors announced than the production of its solar electric car Sion will be discontinued with immediate effect. All pre-orders have been canceled and the money will gradually be returned. The Sion was one of the most innovative German projects in the field of electric mobility: the idea behind the vehicle was to create a solar car, which would allow owners to increase their autonomy of more than 30 kilometers every day by the sun's rays alone.
End of production
In retrospect, the decision, which came as a bolt from the blue for fans, actually has very precise causes. The growing instability of the financial markets has led to rising costs and very serious financing problems. Despite over 45.000 bookings, many pre-orders and a campaign (#SaveZion), launched last December on social media to raise money to continue production, Sion is dead. It took up 90% of the company's economic capacity: it would not have withstood the production phase.
Sono Motors, however, is still alive. The team says in an announcement that it now intends to "focus exclusively on retrofitting and integrating solar technology into third-party vehicles." seems determined to continue developing innovative products in the solar sector.
Survivors and survivors
Even though the decision to stop producing the Sion was not an easy one, the company seems determined to get back on its feet by working as a development and cooperation partner for automotive groups such as Mitsubishi, Scania and MAN Truck. In summary, Sono Motors will transform from a manufacturer to a provider of B2B solar services and solutions in the automotive industry.
Some will object that a project like this could have seemed completely "out of the blue". It is worth underlining that the German company's solar car did not fail due to inefficiency, but due to organizational problems. One day, perhaps, the ideas behind it will run on the wheels of some other car manufacturer. And anyway the "resistance" continues Lightyear One.
Rest in peace, Zion. Walk in the sun.
