#38 (EN): 100 in one go, Eindhoven, new Jobs

Have a nice Sunday! Here is your special dose of Sono News for the weekend.

+++ PLUS 100 +++

A large reservation from Utrecht from the company “We Drive Solar” adds a hundred new reservations to the list. 

For several years, the Utrecht region has been combining local energy generation with intelligent charging options and operates 500 public, bidirectional AC charging stations. 

Renault is successfully conducting a pilot project in Utrecht for quite some time with bidirectional AC charging, which is exactly the technology that Sono is also pursuing. We've had Utrecht in the column several times, I like the project very much: it proves two things:

  • bidirectional charging is a successful (business) model

  • in a bidi charging world, there are more charging stations than cars because you plug in twice: during the day at work, and again in the evening at home or in the neighborhood. Then it makes sense to pack the bidi technology in the vehicles and not expensive inverters in every wallbox.


Sono can get involved as soon as vehicles can be delivered - with “We Drive Solar” as a local partner. The Sion fits in perfectly. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhjVaEtpd_Y

https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1438517447334653957

https://sonomotors.com/de/press/press-releases/v2g-partnership-with- utrecht /

+++ STATE OF DEVELOPMENT +++

The IAA is over, so is the summer break. Back to work. Unfortunately, I have little news to report. The last development report is eight weeks old.

This would be the link for the new one, but there is none.  

https://sonomotors.com/de/downloads/development-sprint-review-cw-32/

+++ WALLBOX VOTING: RELOADED +++

The first voting round is over, the design is now fixed: it's the Minion. Both options with a regular cable took first and second place in the vote. Someone at  Sono really must be a big fan of the spiral cable: there is another vote, this time it's all about the cable, spiral or not.

Regardless of how it ends, the cable can easily be swapped if necessary, up to 7.5m is no problem. 

https://sonomotors.com/de/blog/design-of-the-sono-wallbox/

(voting link on the page)

+++ NEVS +++

In my role as community advisory board member, I received a few concerned emails because Evergrande - the parent company of NEVS, Sono's contract manufacturer - is in great financial difficulties. Of course, the topic is well known at Sono.

To put “difficulties” in perspective, the well-known (!) debts of Evergrande are more than the entire national debt of Portugal. The subsidiary Evergrande Auto alone is on the books with a goodwill of 20 billion, but is currently worth only four billion on the stock exchange. Evergrande does not manage to turn holdings into money.

I asked friends of mine in China why the sale to Xiamoni didn't work out and got a plausible explanation: the government is waiting to see how much cash Evergrande can raise from sales and renegotiate. The financial needs are currently unclear, more than 300 billion are certainly missing, it will be a bigger bankruptcy than Lehman Brothers. 

There will be no rescue as a whole, they say. The company will be broken up, the government will manage the parts where private individuals would be the victims will be rescued with with government money, companies and insititutional lenders have already been advised that they might have to forgo up to 70% of the money. There might be a “fire-sale”, everything has to go. A company that buys a stake now may be buying too early. 

Over 200,000 people work at Evergrande, the 300 in Sweden at NEVS are unfortunately a very small part. You have to wait and watch.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/17/investing/china-evergrande-group-debt-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

Share price of the New Vehicle Group:

https://www.finanzen.net / aktien / china_evergrande_new_energy_vehicle-aktie


Koenigsegg has left the joint venture, money for NEVS

https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/verkehr/nevs-koenigsegg-elektroautos-sportwagen/


+++ FUNDING +++

Laurin expressed a bit of “displeasure” about the limited subsidies in Germany.

https://twitter.com/LaurinHahn/status/1438064541275918340

Sono was able to rake in some money, but not for the core business:

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/869984


+++ LEFT AND RIGHT +++

Lightyear: If the Sion is the “spiritual” successor to the i3, then the Lightyear One is the i8. Lightyear, the start-up from the Netherlands that also wants to bring a “Solar Electric Vehicle” (SEV) onto the market, is currently on a roll: in July, the start-up sealed a partnership with contract manufacturer Valmet Automotive for the production of the One in Finland. In August, the latest prototype drove 440 miles (708 km) on one battery charge, and a total of 93 million in investor money has been raised this year alone. Deliveries are scheduled for the end of 2022. Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd!

https://ecomento.de/2021/09/17/lightyear-hat-2021-93-millionen-euro-fuer-solar-elektroauto-one-eingesammelt/

TU Einhdhoven: When it comes to campers and mobile homes, the people from the Netherlands are always at the forefront. The first self-charging motorhome with a range of 700 km has been designed in Eindhoven. The “sun camper banana”, the “Stella Vita”, developed by 22 students. The plan is now to drive 3000 kilometers through Europe to Tenerife on a road show.

https://www.ed.nl/auto/deze-nederlandse-zonnecamper-is-compleet-zelfvoorzienend~aa41bb1f

 (NL)

The 16 minute “Release Video”, with Rauch (NL)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A13e3ntldqY

+++ JOBS +++

Two new jobs are in Munich are available:

Technician Serviceability and repair Ability":

  • performing repair tests of prototypes and production vehicles

  • creating repair manuals and other Technical documentation

  • Implementation of working time analyzes

  • Support of development to improve the serviceability of the vehicle

  • Support in setting up a modern system landscape for aftersales


And if that is not enough for you on a typical work shift, you can also help the other teams:

  • Supporting other teams with new projects

https://sonomotors.com/de/career/job/?id=451188

Simulation Engineer Complete Vehicle 

  • In your role as a simulation engineer for the entire vehicle, you are responsible for the creation, planning and coordination of simulation scopes

https://sonomotors.com/de/career/job/?id=440993


+++ IN THE PRESS +++

A nice overview of the current activities of “Solar Electric Vehicle Development” worldwide is available from Switzerland. Nothing in there that we don't already know, but it's always nice to read.

https://www.watson.ch/digital/elektroauto/800915486-sion-dieses-e-auto-tankt-sonne-eine-runde-im-solarauto-fuer-familien

+++ FUN FACT | ENTERTAINMENT +++

Vehicles are parked 93% of their time. In dense inner cities, this is not a solution. Actually, no car of today can be the solution. Jan Böhmermann, comedy host of the second german television (ZDF) did a nice review of some of the current absurdities. In this context, Sono Motors can at least serve as a bridging technology provider on the way to completely new traffic concepts. 

That's why we let our favorite startup apply here and also consider it worthy of funding. In particular, sharing the Sion should be rewarded. 

Click here for Jan Böhmermann's cabaret automobile review:   

https://www.zdf.de/comedy/zdf-magazin-royale/zdf-magazin-royale-vom-17-september-2021-100.html

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#39 (DE): Klimastreik, Amitié Franco-Allemande, Sprint

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#38 (DE): 100 auf einen Streich, Eindhoven, Böhmermann