Munich-based Sono Motors, a solar mobility solution provider, announced on Friday, February 24, that it has decided to pivot its business model to exclusively retrofitting and integrating its solar technology on third-party vehicles.
The German firm has also terminated its Sion passenger car programme effective February 24.
“This pivot marks a significant step in Sono Motors’ business development,” says Laurin Hahn, co-founder and CEO of Sono Motors.
“Even though we had to terminate our original passion project, the Sion programme, shifting our entire focus to business-to-business solar solutions provides us with an opportunity to continue to create innovative products in the solar space,” continues Hahn.
“It was a difficult decision, and despite more than 45,000 reservations and pre-orders for the Sion, we were compelled to react to the ongoing financial market instability and streamline our business,“ adds Hahn.
For those who made reservations, Sono Motors announced a payback plan to reimburse in various installments, including a bonus over the next two years.
The announcement comes a few weeks after raising €1.46M in funding from the EU Commission’s European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (‘CINEA’) to advance the development of its proprietary solar technology, SEAMLESS-PV project.
Why this termination?
The company says that it has terminated the Sion programme to focus on a “capital-light business model.”
According to Sono Motors, around 90 per cent of the funding was routed to the Sion programme.
Given the Sion programme’s resource-intensive nature, Sono Motors is implementing a cost-reduction programme. Consequently, it has slashed 300 employees, and Thomas Hausch decided to step down from his role as COO.
“Without Thomas’ professional dedication and outstanding character, our Sion programme would have not made it this far. We are so thankful for his past and future championing of our mission,” says Hahn.
What’s Sono Motors up to?
Founded in 2016 by Laurin Hahn, Sono Motors intends to put an end to the usage of fossil fuels by bringing about sustainability in the mobility industry.
The German mobility firm is currently working as a development partner and supplier with companies across ten countries in Europe, Asia, and the United States, including Mitsubishi Europe, CHEREAU, and two Volkswagen subsidiaries – Scania and MAN Truck & Bus.
Sono Motors intends to focus specifically on buses and third-party OEM cars.
Hence, it will scale up its technology, starting with the next generation of its mass-market-ready retrofit solution for cleaner public transportation, the ‘Solar Bus Kit’, planned for the second quarter of 2023.
Sono Motors has also announced that it now has 52 patents filed or granted, 42 of which are proprietary solar technology, to date.
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