The first series production solar-electric vehicle developed by German company Sono Motors will be manufactured in Sweden. The first-generation Sion will be produced in Trollhättan by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS).
The plant is the former production facility for Saab, and will be repurposed to produce an initial run of 260,000 vehicles over an eight-year period. Vehicle production will commence in the second half of 2020 – following the ramp-up period, approximately 43,000 Sion a year will be manufactured in two-shift operations. Production will be carried out using 100% renewable energy.
“In NEVS, we found the perfect partner for us,” says Thomas Hausch, chief operating officer of Sono Motors. “Together, we share a vision of intelligent and resource-conserving mobility. We also value our partner’s specific expertise based on their many years of experience in traditional automobile development and production in combination with proven expertise in the area of electromobility.”
The Sion’s bidirectional charging function enables the vehicle to both receive and supply electricity, power electrical devices independently, and feed energy to other vehicles or into the electricity grid. Thanks to full-surface solar integration, the vehicle battery can be charged with solar energy worth up to 34km (21 miles) of range per day in addition to its regular WLTP range of 255km (158 miles).
At launch, the Sion will be rolled out in a single variant version – though there are plans for development of other vehicle models based on the platform.
