#28 (EN): 07/25/22, Carsharing, Culture
Happy Sunday, friends of the sun. Things are moving forward and we have a date!
+++ SAVE THE DATE +++
On Monday, 25.07.2022 there's an event from Sono. What, where, and how, has not yet been revealed. The assumption is, of course, that it has something to do with the "Series Validation" vehicles that are being built.
https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/header_photo
+++ INTERIOR +++
Tuesday last week was a big Youtube video shooting day - all about the interior. I got rid of almost everything from the question list. The video got so long that it had to be split into two parts.
What's impressive is that the cars at Bertrandt are manufactured according to a detailed plan, for reproducible results. This is the basis for scaling, so that later at Valmet can reproduce the steps and a Sion drops off the assembly line every few minutes.
Of course, there are still mistakes, but they are noted and then all subsequent cars will be better. The loudspeakers are not as bad as I had feared, there are still plenty. Only the USB port is a bitter pill: There is only one left after some cost-cutting. But there is enough space to use a splitter on the port to create 2-3 more.
And in the center console, there's the possibility to lay out cables to the rear, so that on the vacation trip the tablet doesn't turn off for the passengers in the back seats.
Here is the video - have fun with "Sion Interior Part 1":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53HlcXwVpRE
+++ SPRINT REPORT +++
A new sprint report (week 22) is here. It came last week Friday a bit sudden, but after our early deadline so we could only cover it briefly. Sono accelerates with info and catches up again. Andreas has worked his way through it, the complete report is linked at the end as usual.
Highlight: Technical specs for homologation are documented ready, on schedule.
Electronics: "despite many obstacles, a good preparation of the Yellow Board was successful". Sometimes you have to praise yourself, the E/E team does it: "Despite many obstacles, a good preparation of the Yellow Board was successful." The Yellow Board is the test surface for the wiring harness. Before you install it in the car, you try out everything next to it, because once the cables are in place, it's hard to do otherwise.
Exterior: "Investigate a new shield to reduce the amount of water in the rear undertray": In vehicles that should be as streamlined as possible - and this is especially important for electric cars - there are panels on the underbody to reduce air resistance. These "panels" are usually divided into two parts. Apparently, rainwater collects on the rear fairing due to the airstream. So Sono is currently trying adjustments to the fairing to reduce moisture at this point.
Body: They are working on optimizations to further reduce costs.
Interior: The steering wheel is a frequent problem here. Apparently, a few small things were found there during assembly.
Infotainment: The main supplier for the head unit, the control panel, has been changed. In addition, the software for the SVC3/SVV is largely ready. With the energy management one waits with the implementation still, until the display is also really finished. The infotainment crew is currently working on the instrument cluster for the SVC4. Lowlights in infotainment: The supplier of the software for the control unit continues to make a fuss about delays. There are also quality concerns, which is why Sono would like a review.
Thermal management: This is about dissipating the waste heat of the car (battery, engine, etc.). A software for the SVC3 is released, which regulates this. In addition, further development is already underway (on SVC4).
Drive unit: The drive train had to be moved forward by 8mm because there was a risk of collision with the steering unit if the Sion was moved dynamically. Driving pleasure assured.
A study of the powertrain's lifetime in terms of towing capacity was launched. This brings the naming of the towing load within reach. We are looking forward to it.
Bidirectional Charging. The DC (direct current) charging capability should be delivered this month so it can be installed in the SVC3. There are issues with the connectors for the CCS plug. AC V2H/G, bidirectional charging with alternating current, is still a headache. The team sees it as a challenge to deliver this functionality in a timely manner. Whether "timely" refers to the test drives this year or the start of production is a task for Sebastian to clarify in the next tech video.
HV battery team: Highlight: New personnel on board. There are still problems with the diagnostic codes from the battery system. On the other hand, the tests for the battery pack are progressing well and a heat problem that we reported on in the last Sprint Report seems to have finally been solved. The temperature problems came from the test cables, not the spot welds.
Assembly of the other SVC3 models is progressing. Coating of the Body in White for the SVC3 -09 and -10 is complete. The assembly support for the insulation of the internal parts and the carpet are also listed as highlights.
Recycling: What about raw material recovery at the end of the Sion's life? Slide 29 deals with this. Highlights only! In particular, "Next steps PV module recycling partner agreed" sounds good. So the recycling of PV modules, which many consider critical, seems to be on a good track.
Crash and Safety hits us with 3 slides at once. There is a lot going on in the homologation process right now.
SVC3-11 and SVC3-12 are reserved for Crash and Safety. It's about time that we make a list, of which SVC is how developed and where it is located.
Source:
https://sonomotors.com/site/assets/files/8277/sono-motors-dev-sprint-review-cw20-22-1.pdf
+++ CARSHARING APP +++
Sono has improved the carsharing app for Germany. You can now make your community public, so your car can be found by anyone. And the fee Sono takes has been reduced to 10%.
If you still need reasons to install the app: the Sono website has "5 good reasons why the carsharing app is important".
Those who want to test joining a community and don't know anyone on the list can sign up with "Wallace," a Renault Zoe in the South of Munich.
https://sonomotors.com/de/blog/5-reasons-why-you-should-care-about-the-sono-carsharing-app/
Details are available in the "AutomotiveIT" magazine - with quotes from Johannes (Head of Product) and Jona (CEO): "For the launch of the Sion, we want to become Germany's largest carsharing platform with the app - and we want to do that by connecting the community instead of owning a fleet of vehicles."
https://www.automotiveit.eu/mobility/carsharing-von-sono-motors-bekommt-neue-features-951.html
What I actually find most interesting about the app is that you realize how difficult it still is to share cars today. Even without handing over the keys. It will only really make sense with the Sion when this is completely included "ex-factory".
+++ HANDELSBLATT +++
German newspaper Handelsblatt summarizes the status of the "Sion" project for a wider audience. Practically everything we already had here. The text contains words of praise, but also words of warning:
A so-called "at-the-market program" was recently set up with Berenberg Bank. In the next two years, Sono can bring shares with a total value of up to 150 million dollars to the market.
For industry expert Neumann, it is far from certain that the financing for the start-up of production is secured. "For all its respectable successes - this is still a difficult undertaking."
+++ FUN FACT +++
"Anyone can build electric cars - internal combustion engines, on the other hand, are high culture."
"Welt" editor-in-chief Ulf Poschardt's call to save the fossil fuel dinosaurs backfired - funny tweets across industries on the topic of "high culture” popped up on Twitter shortly after.
The Origin (paywall):https://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/plus239623529/Ulf-Poschardt-Elektroautos-kann-jeder-bauen-Verbrenner-sind-Hochkultur.html
The responses quickly followed:
Anyone can bake pizza - but baking up frozen pizza is high culture.
https://twitter.com/droetkerpizzade/status/1542092107300601858
Anyone can watch RTL - ARTE, on the other hand, is high culture.
https://twitter.com/ARTEde/status/1542140397018832902?s=20&t=F7yvsF_NC3VrNlh6RhSaZw
We say: Anyone can refuel with gasoline, but 35 km of solar charging is high culture.
Have a nice week, and stay healthy!
Sebastian, Astrid & Andreas