Search Site

Trends banner

TomTom cuts 300 jobs

The firm said it was realigning its organization as it embraces AI.

Aldar nets $953m in sales at Fahid

Aldar said 42 percent of the buyers are under the age of 45.

Qualcomm to Alphawave for $2.4 bn

The deal makes Alphawave the latest tech company to depart London.

Equinor signs $27 bn gas deal

The 10-year contract was signed with Centrica.

ADNOC Drilling secures $1.15bn contract

The contract for two jack-up rigs begins in the second quarter.

Sono Motors, German start-up, to roll out solar car next year

Sion, a solar electric vehicle developed by Sono Motors, is surrounded by the viewers in Munich. (AFP)
  • The car, which boasts a battery range of 305 kilometers, is aimed at families as well as car sharing services
  • The large black Sion hatchbacks are covered with 456 solar cells which allow it to generate on average enough electricity over a week to power the car 112 kilometers
The Sion, a five-person family car covered completely in solar panels, should enter into serial production in the second half of 2023, the German start-up developing the vehicle said Monday.
Following years of development, Sono Motors is now building a fleet of test vehicles before confiding mass production to Valmet Automotive, a Finnish company which produces vehicles under contract. 

 

The large black Sion hatchbacks are covered with 456 solar cells which allow it to generate on average enough electricity over a week to power the car 112 kilometers (70 miles).

The car, which boasts a battery range of 305 kilometers, is aimed at families as well as car sharing services.

Sono Motors already has 19,000 reservations for the Sion, with the average advance of 2,225 euros ($2,225) helping finance development.

The company plans to produce more than 250,000 of the vehicles over the next seven years at a price of just over 25,000 euros.

Both startups and established carmakers have begun to integrate solar panels on electric vehicles to extend the range.

The Lightyear 0 is supposed to begin shipping to clients later this year, but only a thousand or so are to be produced at a price tag of 250,000.

The Spain-based firm plans to roll out a mass market vehicle in 2024-2025.

The California start-up Aptera hopes to deliver a two-seat three-wheel vehicle next year and has 25,000 orders.

One version of the vehicle with a range of 400 kilometers costs $26,000, while another with 1,600 kilometers in range costs $46,000.