Sono Sion Unveiled, World’s First Production Solar Car – Up To 18 Miles PV Added Range Per Day

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GRA

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
14,018
Location
East side of San Francisco Bay
For all those who wonder if it's worth just slapping a solar panel on the roof (it's not), this could actually meet some people's modest daily range needs. Or, for those who, like me, are renters who leave their car parked all week long and only use it occasionally, this would make a solar-charged BEV viable. Still would need more range, though. Via IEVS: http://insideevs.com/sono-sion-unveiled-worlds-first-production-solar-car/

Today Sono Motors unveiled its prototype electric and solar car, the worlds first series production bound solar powered car, with deliveries expected in 2019.

Integrated solar cells (330 to be exact) on the Sion’s body produce enough electricity to add around 18 miles of range per day in addition to the ~100 miles it has from plugging in its 30 kWh battery. . . .

Originally the Sion was going to be offered in two models, an Urban model priced at €12,000 with a 14.4 kWh battery giving a real world range of 50-60 miles, and an Extender model priced at €16,000 featuring a 30 kWh battery providing around 110-120 miles of real world range. But last week the decision was announced to only develop the Extender model and drop the Urban model due to weak demand because of its low range. Another change from the original concept is that there will only be 5 seats instead of 6 in order so keep production costs low.

The price of €16,000 ($18,720 USD currently) does not include the price of the 30 kWh battery which will be offered as a monthly battery lease or an upfront battery purchase, estimated by Sono to be €4,000, which is $4,680 USD by today’s exchange rate. Estimated final cost in USD is expected to be in the $23,000 range with production in 2019, and test drives next summer in the U.S.

Some notable features are it’s bi directional charging which can turn the car into a mobile power station with up to 2.7 kW output, a special moss for air filtration, and an optional 750 kg capacity trailer hitch (1654 lbs.) Fast charging is supported, but no details are available yet. .
. .

Direct link to manufacturer website: https://www.sonomotors.com/sion.html#st-intro

I love the idea and the price, even though I expect real-world daily gain will be more like 10 miles. It will be interesting to see if it makes it to production.
 
GCR: Production Sono Sion solar-assisted car makes appearance
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...sono-sion-solar-assisted-car-makes-appearance

German crowd-funded start-up. 4 door hatch "about the size of a Kia Soul". 1+ kW of PV on top and sides of car, adds up to 21 mpd, but probably about 12 mpd average in Munich. 35kWh battery, 159 mile WLTP range, 161 HP, 214 lb. ft. torque, top speed 87 mph, 50kW CCS, 7.6 kW V2G-capable charging. Price about $28,765, but can lease the battery pack instead and reduce the up-front price.

I think usefully-sized PV* like this makes a lot of sense on EVs, as if nothing else it can run the HVAC on sunny days, pre-condition the interior, cool the battery etc., boosting the range. For someone like me who often leaves his car parked for a week or more, there would be little need to pay to charge (other than doing so upfront and on road trips), and people with shorter commutes in sunnier climes would need little or no extra charging for routine use either. Who knows if this car will reach production, but the basic idea's good.

*Not a token PV module like the one on the LEAF SL.
 
The devil is always in the details, but in the (unlikely?) event that this car is as presented, it will likely be my next EV - the one I actually buy. I'm tired of Nissan's games with features and batteries, and with Japanese whaling resumed I won't buy or lease another Japanese car. This one would replace both my Leaf and my dual fuel backup generator.

(I will need to see pictures of the interior, options lists if any, and read driving reviews.)
 
LeftieBiker said:
it will likely be my next EV - the one I actually buy.
ROFL
Aren't you the guy who picks a trivial feature to exclude a car choice ?

I do agree though that the whaling is despicable. Should I avoid Tesla because America has concentration camps ?
 
Aren't you the guy who picks a trivial feature to exclude a car choice ?

Get Reynaud's Syndrome and then get back to me after a few years of living with it. I'm hoping that in two or three years there will be add on steering wheel heaters that are actually good. If so, then even Tesla may be resurrected from the junk heap of my exclusions....



























NAAAAH.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Aren't you the guy who picks a trivial feature to exclude a car choice ?

Get Reynaud's Syndrome
Yet you call this car your 'likely next car purchase' even though you have no idea whether it will have your must have features ... except when those must have features are not that important.

I have never understood hypocrisy, but I can at least recommend a pair of heated gloves for Raynaud's syndrome (notice the correct spelling.)
 
My reasoning (which may well seem like hypocrisy to those unused to calm, rational discussion) is that I'm willing to add things like a surround camera system and steering wheel heater to a $30k EV that I own, while I am NOT willing to do so with a $38k EV that I am only leasing. I have been wearing lithium battery gloves for 5+ years when on my bicycles in Winter, or driving the PIP, and you apparently can't understand how tiresome it is to care for and manage battery packs for gloves. They need to be charged after every use (and sometimes before as well), they have to be kept charged through the 6 or so warm months, and they are bulky.

When Tesla sells a good sub-$30K EV BEFORE tax credits, and assuming that it isn't poorly designed <COUGHfrozenwindowsblockingdoorsCOUGH> and glitchy, I will consider buying one. IF, that is, it will also power my home in a blackout and slowly charge itself while sitting in my driveway.
 
SageBrush said:
even though you have no idea whether it will have your must have features ... except when those must have features are not that important.

I have never understood hypocrisy

I bought the first EV with my must have features

A 1981 Comutacar
It includes
Brakes
Steering wheel
Sliding windows

That about covers it for me
 
jlv said:
LeftieBiker said:
When Tesla sells a good sub-$30K EV BEFORE tax credits,
Can some moderator move the last few off-topic posts to a more appropriate thread?

Comparing the car in the topic to another EV theoretically in the same price range, is not what I consider OT. If the thread devolves into arguing about Teslas it will be another story.

If the Sion turns out to be a 'stripper' then I'll try to persuade my housemate, who doesn't even use her A/C or radio, to get one. If it has enough features for me, then I am likely to get one. A little family truckster that will power our house, lug larger items, and keep itself charged, would be hard to resist.
 
I still wish that Nissan would put useful solar on the roof for an upcharge. Even 200-300 Watt Hours worth would add a dynamic of range extension for commuting, and emergency power that would be very useful. Certainly worth a $500-$1K upgrade. A full kilowatt, even better.
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
I still wish that Nissan would put useful solar on the roof for an upcharge. Even 200-300 Watt Hours worth would add a dynamic of range extension for commuting, and emergency power that would be very useful. Certainly worth a $500-$1K upgrade. A full kilowatt, even better.

It could also run a cooling fan and keep the 12v from dying
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
I still wish that Nissan would put useful solar on the roof for an upcharge. Even 200-300 Watt Hours worth would add a dynamic of range extension for commuting, and emergency power that would be very useful. Certainly worth a $500-$1K upgrade. A full kilowatt, even better.
I'd rather spend the money on extra battery. Nowadays $1,000 might buy up to 5 kWh battery. Battery Vs PV on a car is not exactly an apples to apples comparison but it is close enough for most people's use profile that I think the cheaper alternative will prevail.
 
SageBrush said:
DougWantsALeaf said:
I still wish that Nissan would put useful solar on the roof for an upcharge. Even 200-300 Watt Hours worth would add a dynamic of range extension for commuting, and emergency power that would be very useful. Certainly worth a $500-$1K upgrade. A full kilowatt, even better.
I'd rather spend the money on extra battery. Nowadays $1,000 might buy up to 5 kWh battery. Battery Vs PV on a car is not exactly an apples to apples comparison but it is close enough for most people's use profile that I think the cheaper alternative will prevail.
But are batteries the cheaper option, and do they provide the most flexibility? For apartment dwellers who have to park on the street, and renters generally who can't charge at home, PV is likely a better choice, at least in sunnier climates. PV should also be cheaper than batteries and is definitely lighter, making the vehicle more efficient.

PV big enough to run the hotel loads on hot days will help any car's efficiency, and also being able to charge the traction battery can provide some people with all the charging they need. I'm obviously an exception to the typical user, but I could use a car with an array the size (860Wp) of the Toyota Prime now being tested and be able to fully charge a BEV-sized pack between trips. For people with more typical commutes, a PHEV that can fully charge at work will replace some or all of their gas, with no other infrastructure required.

Specific to people like me who often sleep in their cars, the ability to run the hotel HVAC while doing so and then leave the car for a day or two while we backpack or ski, knowing that it will be charging during the day when we're gone, is fantastic.

I look forward to seeing useful rather than token-sized PV optionally on cars, esp. PEVs, in the not too distant future. Those of us who know we will benefit from it will choose it, and the rest can save themselves some money and ignore it.
 
^^ It is not that simple. Think of all the ways this car PV will generate less than STC:

Shade from trees, buildings, clouds
Sub-optimal orientation for the time of day

Compared to a known quantity in the battery.

I'm not against car PV in the slightest but it will have to compete with battery on price and it is mostly an opportunistic charge sort of thing. You cannot rely on it on a daily basis.
 
SageBrush said:
^^ It is not that simple. Think of all the ways this car PV will generate less than STC:

Shade from trees, buildings, clouds
Sub-optimal orientation for the time of day

Compared to a known quantity in the battery.

I'm not against car PV in the slightest but it will have to compete with battery on price and it is mostly an opportunistic charge sort of thing. You cannot rely on it on a daily basis.

Missed this post somehow. Sure, you can't rely on it on a daily basis, but not everyone needs to. As to shade, I assume everyone who bothers to buy such an option will be aware of these issues, and park their car accordingly - where the sun is and where it will be in a few hours are something I routinely take into account now when choosing where to park. Granted, given my background I'm much more aware of it than the typical car buyer, but the people who will opt for this initially will be early adopters, and they won't be typical in either their knowledge of or interest in solar matters. As to less than ideal orientation, a flat panel only loses about 11% compared to the maximum in Northern California latitudes. If you live in a sunny climate at or south of these latitudes, as in say New Mexico, it's a win. If you live in Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, nah.
 
GCR:
Sono Motors looks for startup shortcuts to bring solar car to market
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...tartup-shortcuts-to-bring-solar-car-to-market


Solar powered cars generally face one glaring, gamestopping hurdle: Today’s solar cells don’t produce enough power to drive a standard-sized car any distance. That would take more solar cells than there is space on top of a car.

Don’t tell that to Sono Motors, though. The Munich, Germany-based company, plans to bring a car covered with solar panels to production in Europe late this year, and to reach full production toward the end of 2020.

There’s a caveat, of course: Its initial Sion model can only cover an average of about 21 miles (34 kilometers) on solar power, on an average day in Germany.

With a 35-kwh battery, though, it provides plenty of buffer for cloudy days and a total plug-in range of 158 miles. Most Germans drive only 14 miles a day, the company says, and few have garages or even private parking spaces where they can install a charger, so having a modest solar charging capacity can alleviate the need for daily charging. . . .

What the executives are most proud of are Sono’s proprietary new solar cells, which will be integrated into the surface of the body—roof, hood, doors, fenders, and tailgate—rather than stuck on as on the existing prototype. The new cells are visible—barely—in Sion’s virtual body panels. . . .

. . . the initial car will be available only in Europe, where crash standards are easier to meet for small, light vehicles. That will save millions in development costs. The vast majority of deposits (80 percent) are from Germany, says COO Ulrich Hoernke.

Also, the polymer body panels, even with embedded solar panels, cost only 1 percent as much to make as steel after accounting for buying stamping dies to bend steel body panels, said Christians. Those body panels will be impregnated with color, not painted, also saving enormous manufacturing costs. Thomas Haupsch, Sono’s chief operating officer, says 80 percent of the energy used in traditional car factories is in the paint shop.

The Sion will come in only one configuration, much like the Ford Model T: Sono surveyed its 10,000 deposit holders whether they wanted white or black, and they narrowly chose black.

Rather than looking for land to build its own factory, Sono will build the Sion at a contract manufacturing facility, NEVS, the former Saab factory in Trollhatten, Sweden.

Sono is working on an all-new prototype that is more than an update of last spring’s prototype that sits in the Sono headquarters lobby. The biggest news (literally) is a stretch in the car’s overall length from 87 to 98 inches, to give the back seat enough legroom for adults to be comfortable, as well as a bit more cargo space. Large rear quarter windows behind the doors distinguish it visually.

Sono is building a virtual prototype of the updated design, which visitors can examine inside virtual-reality goggles in its lobby “showroom.” The company says it is currently working to raise money to build a new prototype, which could prove a stumbling block for the car’s planned production timing. For now, the company continues to target production of 43,000 Sions a year in 2021.

Ulrich Hörnke, Sion’s chief financial officer, says deposits for the car average $1,300 apiece. (Potential buyers have to put down at least 1,000 euros to secure a spot on the list. Some have already paid the full target price of just over $23,000.) For that, Sono says, the car will come with all the latest active driver safety aids, such as automatic emergency braking and active lane control, but executives say they aren’t aiming for a full self-driving system.

Sono is counting on two new technologies to set the car apart. First, the company is developing its own touch-screen control system, which incorporates its own car-sharing service, so owners can make money sharing their cars.

Secondly, the company uses its own vehicle-to-grid technology that produces AC output for the grid and allows one Sono to charge another. Germany is ahead of the U.S. in developing standards and technology for vehicle-to-grid charging. . . .


I wish them luck, and think this does have a real chance of success in its niche. Given how much time my car spends parked in my driveway or at trailheads during the day, having integrated PV in a BEV/PHEV would definitely be of value to me, if the extra cost isn't too high.
 
ABG:
Sono Motors says it has raised $55.42 million for solar powered car
The Sion also features dashboard moss
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/01/20/sono-motors-sion-solar-car-crowdfunding-campaing/


German solar-powered electric car startup Sono Motors said it had raised 50 million euros from a crowd-funding campaign to develop a solar-powered vehicle.

Munich-based Sono, founded in 2016, has attracted engineers from Nissan, Opel and Honda to develop the Sion, an electric car clad in crystalline silicon cells, which give the vehicle up to 30 km (18.6 miles) of electric charge a day. . . .

The Sion also features moss integrated into the dashboard for air filtration and humidity regulation. Sono says the moss needs no water or other special care to maintain. . . .
 
GCR:
How the Sono Sion electric car will use every body panel as a solar panel


https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ar-will-use-every-body-panel-as-a-solar-panel


. . .Sono now anticipates launching its development prototypes in late September of this year—slightly later than previously anticipated. And the company confirmed last week to Green Car Reports that it plans to produce its first vehicles on the line at the end of 2021, with an official start of production and first deliveries to start in early 2022.
 
Back
Top