CleanTechnica has been covering the Sono Sion for years. We’ve interviewed company officials, covered the reveal of the car, and followed the company as it worked its way from development to production. But, now we’re sad to report that the company is in a struggle for its life as it … [continued]
Even here at CleanTechnica, there’s a lot of skepticism about solar-powered cars. The obvious problem, of course, is that solar power just doesn’t generate enough power per square foot of surface area to get a lot of power out of the top of a car. As one well-known automotive engineer … [continued]
Recently, Sono Motors hosted its first “Celebrate the Sun” community event with over 2000 attendees. The Munich-based OEM celebrated the debut of the world’s first affordable solar electric vehicle (SEV), the Sion, in its production design, as well as the unveiling of its novel ‘Solar Bus Kit,’ a scalable B2B … [continued]
Every time I write about solar vehicles, I get the same thing from people in the comments and on social media, like: “That’s a stupid gimmick that’ll add like a mile a day.” “What a joke. That can’t even run the air conditioning.” While these statements have been true for … [continued]
After my recent article about solar electric vehicles (EVs), I came across something I didn’t expect to see so fast. Since the prices of both used EVs and solar panels have fallen so much, the price is now where DIY tinkerers are willing to break out their Dremel tools and make a go of it themselves.
Recently, Toyota announced a special research and development project. With Sharp and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), it has put a special test vehicle together that uses solar panels to generate almost 1 kW of energy during daylight hours, whether the vehicle is driving or sitting.
Many of us who are interested in electric vehicles and solar power have probably wondered if this form of clean electricity could be integrated into an EV somehow. In fact, for some years now, there have been a number of solar-powered car races conducted. However, these vehicles, though impressive in their engineering and abilities, do not meet consumer expectations for speed, comfort, safety, passenger capacity, and storage space.
Sono Motors is approaching the end of a successful test drive tour of its new Sion all-electric vehicle. The tour has stopped off at 12 cities in six countries throughout Europe, and it will make its final stop in Zurich from the 24th to the 27th of October.
Here it is, the long-anticipated first real-life look at the prototype of the Sion, a battery- and solar-powered vehicle from German startup Sono Motors. Financed by a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo, the project has now taken its next step on the path to full realisation.
