According to German startup Sono Motors, solar-powered cars are more than just a hot-selling car, because this is the company’s new Sion and it could reach customers as early as next year. after. Sono has been working on Sion from 2017 onwards and since then there have been a total of more than 19,000 bookings made up of an average deposit of 2,225 Euros (£1871).
Sono says the Sion is expected to cost around €25,126 (£21,135), making it a rival to Cheapest EVssuch as Fiat 500e and MG 5 EV. Although Sono is headquartered in Munich, the Sion will be built in Finland and they aim to produce 257,000 Sion vehicles by the end of the decade.
Helping to power the Sion are 456 solar ‘half cells’ built into most of the body panels. The only panels without solar cells are the front and rear bumpers. Sono says these cells will extend the Sion’s estimated 190-mile range to an average of 70 miles per week.
The Sion’s battery is a 54kWh unit that is charged with solar energy captured by the cells or via a charger that provides speeds up to 75kW. Batteries can redirect energy to power electronic devices and even other devices Electric Car with power up to 11kW.
Sion was introduced as a family-friendly MPV and compared to previous concepts, we can see new headlights and taillights, cleaner bottom surfaces, new bumpers and charging caps at the front. It’s an angular exterior that blends with a minimalist interior. Inside there are two screens on the dashboard and an unusual fog screen below. Elsewhere, the cabin looks fairly conventional, although the powertrain is atypical.
The vehicle was unveiled at the first “Celebrate the Sun” event in Munich alongside another Sono creation – the ‘Solar Bus Kit’ is a retrofitted solar panel kit that can be added on. existing buses to power things like air conditioning and electricity.
Harness the power of the sun with these solar charger…
