Sono Motors, founded in 2016 in Munich, develops solar integration technology for vehicles and originally built the Sion solar‑panelled EV. The Sion was designed with 248 solar cells across the exterior and was projected to add about 112 km of range per week; manufacturing had been slated to start in mid‑2023 but manufacturing costs proved challenging. In July 2022 Sono launched a Solar Bus Kit for buses, trucks and refrigerated vehicles that can save up to 1,500 litres of diesel and up to 4 tonnes of CO2 per bus per year and has an expected payback of roughly three to four years. The company has raised over $126.6 million in funding and had over 22,131 reservations for the Sion. Sono entered self‑administration in May 2023 but has signed investment agreements intended to allow it to restructure and continue its solar integration business through at least the end of 2024. The firm is prioritizing the market launch of the Solar Bus Kit while continuing development and marketing of its solar integration technology for refrigerated vehicles, last‑mile delivery vans and passenger cars. Sono Motors develops proprietary vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (ViPV) solar technology engineered to be integrated into a variety of vehicle architectures, including buses, trucks, trailers and passenger cars. The company promotes the Sion as a potential affordable solar electric vehicle and has approximately 21,000 reservations with advance deposits as of 30 November 2022. Sono has grown its intellectual property to 50 patents granted or filed, 42 of which relate to its solar technology. The firm is engaged in the SEAMLESS-PV project to advance automated PV manufacturing and industrialize novel manufacturing processes for cost-efficiency and standardization. Financially, the company has received payment commitments from its community and other sources totaling approximately €45 million during its ongoing #savesion campaign. Sono Motors is listed on NASDAQ (SEV) and is headquartered in Munich. Sono Motors is a Munich-based electric car startup founded in 2016 that is developing the Sion, an EV with solar cells integrated across the hood, roof and body to recharge throughout the day. The company says the Sion can be preordered worldwide for €16,000 (battery excluded) and is slated to be available in 2019, launching in 29 countries. Sono has amassed 8,586 reservations for the Sion. Financially, the company is running an active equity crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs that is about to surpass €6 million from 645 investors; it previously raised over €1.8 million in a separate Seedrs round and secured €549,895 on Indiegogo. Sono frames its long-term plan as becoming a global mobility and energy service provider within ten years with the goal of reducing CO₂ emissions and vehicle production volumes. The product and strategy emphasize resource-conserving, everyday-suitable mobility solutions.

Total raised

$8M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jan 2023