The German start-up Sono Motors has ended the Sion program, an electric solar car, due to a lack of budget to develop it. This decision, feared by supporters of the Sono Motors project, was announced after the start-up launched a financing campaign for the Sion.
The financing campaign for their electric and solar car, Sion, had already exceeded its first deadline without reaching its goal. Sono Motors was forced to extend the “Save Sion” mission for an additional 33 days.
But ultimately, the German start-up announced the interruption of the program before the end of those 33 days. In the future, Sono will focus on solar technologies for businesses, which means the future of the small electric compact car powered by solar energy is definitively sealed.
The press release states that “solar mobility solutions provider Sono Group announced today its decision to refocus its business model towards the exclusive integration of its solar technology onto third-party vehicles and to terminate its Sion passenger car program as of today.”
Continuing in the solar energy sector
The group faced a funding problem because the Sion project represented 90% of their financial needs. Many employees were involved in the project, representing a significant salary mass. “This marks a significant turning point in the development of Sono Motors,” said CEO and co-founder of the company, Laurin Hahn, expressing his regret about the end of the Sion program, which he called a “passionate program.”
However, he also pointed out that this development “offered an opportunity to continue creating innovative products in the field of solar energy.”
He confirmed that it was impossible for Sono Motors to face the market’s instability and to continue the Sion project, leading to the departure of former COO, Thomas Hausch, who will oversee the transition to the company’s new core business. In addition, the company also announced that it would lay off 300 people working on the Sion project.
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