Sono Motors scraps Sion solar car project

Germany-based Sono Group NV (NASDAQ:SEV) said today it has decided to terminate its Sion solar electric vehicle project and focus on a capital-light business model in view of depressed capital market conditions.

The company will concentrate on retrofitting and integrating its solar technology onto third party vehicles.

"It was a difficult decision and despite more than 45,000 reservations and pre-orders for the Sion, we were compelled to react to the ongoing financial market instability and streamline our business," said Sono Motors co-founder and chief executive Laurin Hahn. The company had launched the #savesion campaign in a bid to rescue the project. Its termination will lead to about 300 job cuts.

Sono Motors will try to sell its Sion programme.

The company says that 23 business-to-business customers in Europe, Asia and the US are currently piloting its integrated solar technology on various vehicles. Among the customers are Mitsubishi Europe, Chereau and two Volkswagen subsidiaries -- Scania and MAN Truck & Bus.

Sono Motors now plans to focus specifically on buses and third-party OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cars. It intends to introduce the next generation of its mass-market-ready retrofit product for public transportation, the Solar Bus Kit, in the second quarter of 2023.

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