#22: DVP, VTS and CAE (EN)
Have a beautiful Sunday. Here, as always, the latest news from the Sonoversum, unofficial and uncensored:
+++ TEST DRIVES +++
I'm a fan of the test drives. It's lovely to be able to see and touch the current state of development. Test drives differentiate Sono from the other automotive startups. I was wondering - and you probably too - where exactly the problem is starting that again.
The reason is that the test drives are considered an event because they are free, and you cannot buy anything that is not also available purely digitally. So, as an event, they have to be approved, every single event. And events for private individuals are currently not so easily approved if they are not necessary. Appointments with journalists are easier; they are considered "business" and are always allowed, but not private individuals.
+++ SPRINT REVIEW +++
Every 14 days, there is an update from the development. The update lags always2-3 weeks behind. The latest update is from the week of May 3rd to May 9th:
This time, the document is full of technical abbreviations:
"Highlight: DVP update received. VTS release v6".
What does this mean? First, we have to decrypt the abbreviations:
DVP = Design Validation Plan
VTS = Vehicle Technical Specification
Translated, it reads: "Good news: The vehicle team has presented a new overall plan for how the Sion can be built in terms of price and time frame. And we still have some time for fine-tuning".
It continues with abbreviations:
"Lowlight: NVH CAE Package till SVC3 only one alignment possible. PMCS tool fillings".
NVH = Noise, Vibration, Harshness (NVH, "Noise, Vibration, Roughness") summarizes the audible or perceptible vibrations in vehicles or machines.
CAE =Computer Aided Engineering
PMCS = Project Management Control System
Rough translation: "The not so good news is, we get only a single correction loop to wind noise under control. And what is written in our project tool is not of much help either".
https://sonomotors.com/site/assets/files/6247/sono-motors-dev-sprint-review-cw18-21.pdf
+++ FAZ +++
The Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) reports on Sono. The article begins with a verbal hit on the bonnet:
"From a distance, the clumsy lines and the wide gaps are irritating".
The - initially negative - tone is put into perspective later. The article turns positive, and the editors admit that a prototype can also have poor gaps because of a lot of manual work.
Later it is mentioned that this year, for the first time, revenues are to be generated, also to offset accumulated losses from previous years. Sono Motors prepares to license the patented solar technology to commercial vehicle manufacturers, the railways, or the navy. And with the Sono app, the community should lend their vehicles to third parties, and Sono Motors provides the insurance and collects part of the rental fees for it.
https://zeitung.faz.net/faz/unternehmen/2021-05-28/sono-motors-meint-es-ernst/615623.html
The article is behind a paywall, you can access it for free in exchange to your e-mail address:
+++ MORE IN THE PRESS + ++
The Automobilwoche took the FAZ article as a template to knit its own article. Their own taunts have replaced the FAZ's provocative text modules, so the Sion becomes an "unadorned minivan." Otherwise, the AW report is based precisely on one source, the FAZ:
The Frankfurter Rundschau wrote its very own text and provided some background information on what's going on in 2019 happened and led to the 50 million crowdfunding campaign:
"How serious the Sono founders are with their green visions became clear when they fell out with investors at the end of 2019: because the investors put a profit-maximizing strategy at the expense of sustainability. At times, the startup was threatened with bankruptcy. But a crowdfunding campaign never seen before in the auto industry turned the tide and prevented the end".
+++ JOBS +++
In the Sprint Review above, we saw that the requirements management needs support. A new position was advertised on Thursday to tackle the exact problem:
Requirements Manager (f / m / x) Automotive, solar electric vehicle, OEM, start-up
https://sonomotors.jobs.personio.de/job/366012
++ + FUN FACT +++
If you look very carefully at the photo at the FAZ, you can see a small fold on the bonnet. It looks a little like an entrance to an anthill:
Of course, I was curious. Friday was a photoshoot in the "coal bunker" in Munich with the Sion - and I used the opportunity to "inconspicuously" stop by. Stopping by worked well; the part with "inconspicuously" not so much. A lot of people who knew me were there.
Finding: The solar integration is still sensitive, apparently because it is still a manual pre-series process, but it looks very good optically, especially on the sides. The solar integration in the Sion is a product.
And in at least one of the two prototypes, all panels are now connected and work together (at least after a "visual inspection").
https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1398276954118295552?s=19