Designed in Germany and crowdfunding-financed, it is the world's first solar electric car intended for mass production. Prices from €12,000 and a maximum range of 250 km.
The electric car rechargeable via solar energy is here. Not a prototype, not a concept, not a show car destined to look impressive at a motor show or parade, but a concrete, working vehicle that can be ordered as early as next year. A step forward for alternative mobility. A step that is, above all, affordable for everyone, given that the starting price does not exceed €12,000.
The world's first production car powered in part by solar radiation was born in Germany, thanks to the ingenuity of three recent graduates who founded the start-up Sono Motors and spent four years in a Munich garage designing and building the first solar panel electric car prototype. A genesis that, in many respects, recalls the birth of the first Apple computer at the hands of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Sion, as Sono Motors' "creation" is called, is a five-door, six-seat saloon — a far from conventional configuration — measuring 4.11 metres in length and built making extensive use of lightweight yet strong materials such as polycarbonate and thermoplastic polyurethane. Solutions already widely used in the sporting and automotive sectors; think, in this regard, of BMW, which relies on CFRP (thermoplastic polyurethane mixed with carbon fibre) for the passenger cell of the electric i3.
Boasting a 30 kWh lithium battery and a maximum range of 250 kilometres, Sion can count on a surface area of 7.5 square metres of solar panels which, throughout the day, makes it possible to recover enough charge for an additional 30 km of range. It is therefore a "conventional" electric vehicle in terms of operation, but with the added ability to draw energy directly from the sun. A clear step forward compared to what has been seen so far, given that the only photovoltaic applications in the automotive sector had been limited to the roof of the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid saloon, sold in Japan, and the Volkswagen Tiguan GTE and Ford C-MAX Solar Energi prototypes. No one, until now, had brought to market a vehicle almost entirely covered in solar panels. Sion also reaches a top speed of 140 km/h and acts as an energy storage unit, since once plugged in it supplies over 2,000 watts.
Sion is available in two versions: Urban, fitted with a 14.4 kWh battery giving a range of 120 km, priced at €12,000, and Extender, featuring 30 kWh cells, 250 km of range per charge, and a list price of €16,000. The first examples will be produced via crowdfunding, meaning it will be possible to contribute to costs with pledges starting from five euros. Sales will begin in 2018. Provided, that is, that you have green fingers! Yes, because the air purification system will be entrusted to a small lichen planting fitted into the dashboard. The ultimate in sustainability.