#14 (EN): New parts, old parts, April fools
Have a nice Sunday. Another blanket of snow has fallen over Germany from north to south. Face masks are no longer required as of today, and - spring is coming. And we are approaching summer - when the presentation of the final Sion and validation vehicles is due.
+++ ON SITE +++
Many reservation holders want to see the results from the design freeze and the progress made in the last months. I feel you. But of course, Sono wants the “Big Bang” to show the vehicle once it’s entirely done.
Last Friday, I was at the Sono "headquarters" in the north of Munich for an interview. When you enter the building, there is a door to the right of the main entrance leading to the "Showroom”. Some may know the hall from community events or the filming location for the latest YouTube videos. Currently, the hall serves as a warehouse for incoming parts and deliveries and as a storage room and junkyard. Between all the stuff, you can find samples and pre-production parts from suppliers and test setups. For me, this is always the preferred "waiting room" to take a sneak peek of new deliveries. Some parts for the series look really good, much better quality than the 3D printed plastic parts from the SVC2.
I know you want to finally see pictures and videos of the build of the validation vehicles. The difficulty right now is that many parts come from suppliers who also supply to other OEMs. Filming is prohibited on their premises because you can't avoid accidentally catching something built for a competitor. You have to wait until the components arrive in Munich to be on the safe side.
Today’s cover picture is right from the junk area in the hall; I don’t want to spoil any secrets. Sono has published some detailed images from several new parts this week; the links are below.
+++ APRIL +++
April Fool's jokes have a long tradition among the Social Media team at Sono. According to the newsletter and Twitter, the engieering team is working on an extension to the cockpit greenhouse to grow vegetables in the vehicle. It was a joke! It's not going into production, and no one is working on it. It's interesting what Sono is being credited with ;-)
https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1509874609113477127
+++ NEWSLETTER +++
There was a new newsletter from Sono to the community on April 1st - with more info: the number of reservation holders has increased to 17,097 net as of 4/1/2022. The website confirms the number:
https://sonomotors.com/en/about-us/
If anyone is still up for a survey and wants to vote - here we go: there is a new poll about the demographics of the Sono community and their preferred info sources. Here's the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/NFFPKST
+++ TWEET +++
Sono keeps us guessing on Twitter what has been delivered. You can see the Electric Drive Unit (the engine EMR3 from Vitesco, formerly Conti) and mounting plates. They are quite massive because the forces of the drivetrain have to be transferred to the chassis.
https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1508812070942384129
Laurin also shows an exterior component and lets us guess what is to be seen. He can only keep the result to himself for a few minutes: it’s the new front. On the SVC2, it was still a classic honeycomb structure, the new one is now somewhat compressed and the cover in the middle is certainly there for a reason.
https://twitter.com/LaurinHahn/status/1509151631585259521
+++ CAPITAL +++
CAPITAL brings a more extended editorial report on the Sion: "SCV 2.2 is a prototype of the Sion model; 16,000 interested parties have already made a down payment on the retail price of 28,500 euros - making the car 1.500 euros cheaper than a Renault Zoe. CFO Torsten Kiedel is planning a capital increase, even though the share price has fallen by a third since the IPO - not least because of the turbulence surrounding the Chinese real estate group Evergrande, the majority owner of Saab's successor NEVS. This won't change the timetable, says Kiedel: "We continue to assume that the first vehicles will be delivered next year."
If anyone is wondering, the "SCV" 2.2 is not a new variant; SVC2,2 Salt or Pepper, is one of the two prototypes. It should be SVC; of course, we know what CAPITAL means.
(thanks to Kay for the link)
+++ MUNICH +++
The first public bus in Munich runs with Sono Solar technology on the roof. It was announced at the end of March on Instagram; it appeared in the press on April first. The "Sono Solar" division, the second mainstay of Sono Motors, has started another test run with a bus trailer in Munich. Here, the electricity is not used for propulsion but for operating the air conditioning, lighting, and electronics and is thus intended to reduce the fuel consumption of the towing vehicle. A principle that campers are already familiar with.
Munich's second mayor pays a visit on site:
The application on the bus is interesting because the trailer is in motion almost around the clock, and vibrations occur frequently; this cannot be simulated practically in the laboratory; you have to get out into the field.
Heise does not just copy the press release and is adding their thoughts, and in the comments, the whole thing is also technically illuminated by savvy readers:
Sonos original message:
https://sonomotors.com/en/press/press-releases/sono-motors-technology-used-for-munichs-first-solar-bus/
+++ ANTI-PUTIN CAR +++
It's hard to link boulevard magazine “Focus,” but the Sion is mentioned here. The solar car is the “ultimate answer to the resource crisis.” The Sion is the "anti-Putin car," according to Focus magazine.
+++ FUN FACT +++
We don't do advertising here, but converting a VW T2 Doka (“Doppelkabine”) to fully electric using a Fleck conversion kit is too beautiful. And thanks to its newly added solar panels on the vehicle, it fits right on.
The wires are laid out picobello and spiced up with LEDs in the trunk. That alone would be worth mentioning, but the highlight is the custom solar covers on the cargo area that charge the vehicle, even on the roof. Respect. The car also has a rearview camera and a 30 kWh battery.
(Thanks to Malte for the hint)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3FjmBwGfGE
Stay healthy!
Sebastian, Astrid, Andreas