#31: Unveiling: It’s a solar electric car!
Happy Sunday. Last Monday at the Celebrate the Sun event in Muich, Sono unveiled the SVC3 (SVV) in front of over 1,500 attendees.
+++ FOLK FESTIVAL +++
The "world premiere" was more or less a folk festival. There were multiple stages and presentations at the venue - from high-voltage batteries to a job fair with vacancies at Sono. There was a lot of activity on site - despite the summer heat. The Sion was covered in the main tent. At 7:15 p.m.,Laurin and Jona lifted the cover of the new vehicle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyIDK_V8ZtU
The Sion is a collaborative effort, and many of the engineers were present to talk in detail about their work in the Q&A section afterwards. Asti and I were allowed to lead through the segment, thank you, Sono.
What is of most interest:
Development is on track for second half of 2023 delivery
There are still a number of issues for which actions are planned to resolve them in time.
The Sion SVC3 in operation can be seen here: https://youtu.be/lzp94W7SU9k?t=435
The differences of the SVV to the old SVC2 we know from the test drives. Here is a separate slide at 43:10 to. https://youtu.be/lzp94W7SU9k?t=2590
Surprise guest on stage was the CEO of Valmet Automotive, who announced some insights about the current cooperation - there are already engineers from Valmet in the team, so that the handover to Uusikaupunki should go smoothly.
Andreas held the fort down in the community tent, a time-lapse video of the booth is available in the Facebook group. In addition to many nice conversations, there were also many questions at the booth, which we could either answer directly, or take to the list. After 9 hours we were hoarse, but no Corona for the three of us after one week now.
Source: Sono Motors Youtube Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyIDK_V8ZtU
+++ SUMMARY +++
The main message from Monday was: the Sion is largely on track - there are open issues - and actions on how to deal with them.
“Small note, big meaning” says Markus: Sono Motors is now a real OEM (original equipment manufacturer) - recognized by the Kraftfahrt Bundesamt (KBA, Federal Motor Transport Authority) - the second in Munich he says. In the context of the automotive industry, vehicle manufacturers refer to themselves as OEM. with this, all sorts of corporate processes have also already been certified.
At this point I still have questions, because Sono has had a WMI identifier for a long time ("Word Manufacturer Index" - the WS7 and thus has been listed as a manufacturer at the KBA for a long time. I can’t tell what’s new now, but when Markus and Denis are happy, we can be happy too.The homologation process or type approval has already started, the Sion in the SVV version is in the middle of it. This will only be completed with series production in Uusikaupunki at Valmet.
Quite great is a slide from Denis. Earlier this year he put up a slide in a Q&A - and has now pulled out the same slide - the schedule is on track: Development continues on schedule, despite all the adversity, such as supply issues, he reports. The SOP is still in the second half od 2023. Special applause from the audience.
About 200 engineers are working on the Sion. Now comes the fine-tuning of the vehicle. Symbolically Markus slams the door - rich sound already.
An important note from Markus about costs at about minute 17: there is a "cost reduction program" underway on the Sion - from appropriate supplier negotiations to weight reduction (saves material and thus costs) to other ideas. Results: for example, there is no longer a rear wiper (was also in the Sprint Report) and, as seen in the new interior video, there is also only one light in the trunk instead of two. And that is important so that the promised price can be kept says Markus.
Ten years ago, I was in a meeting with an OEM, and the people there were shouting at each other over a screw worth 3 cents. Of course, there is no shouting at Sono, but the principle is the same: you have to bring the material and production costs down to a very hard, well defined cost level. And anything above that must be saved elsewhere. Most of the cost down measures, you never see as a user. Sometimes savings even allow to bring back a small feature.
And now to the vehicle: Some were a bit disappointed that you couldn't get to it (Asti also just peeked through the window). In some forums it was speculated that there is something wrong with the rear end, because you can't see it in the video - but no - at minute 14 you can, by the way.
The Q&A went on for over an hour, so we can only bring you the absolute highlights.
We found one chart at the end particularly exciting, because it shows what is already absolutely final. Whenever it turns green while reading horizontally, there is no more change until the series:
Source: Sono Motors Q&A Live Stream https://youtu.be/lzp94W7SU9k
Safety first: High-voltage Julia is the new shooting star from the engineering team. She sums up why there are currently no test drives: The vehicle will not be unleashed to the masses until the technical safety has been established, but it is already up and running! And the first complete batteries are already on board of ships to Europe, so there is no need to assemble the individual parts.
Delamination first, waviness second. Dominik's part is about the solar body panels, the 6th generation is installed on the SVC3. The issues of delamiation and waviness should be resolved by the SOP at the end of 2023 and then probably SBP generation nine.
BiDi: Bidirectional charging was in high demand at the community booth. The necessary hardware will be installed for the launch at the end of 2023. On the software side, it will be delivered over the air, i.e. via the Internet - without the Sion having to be driven anywhere. The community wants this as quickly as possible and it should then come promptly. The Schuko will definitely work at launch.
Boris reported from the infotainment development. They are at the bottom of the food chain and need to know all the technical components, otherwise they can't finish programming. Android Auto and Apple Carplay will be on board as of SOP - and some Sono apps - so you can see live how the solar output is. The stationary car will provide values for the app every 10-60 minutes.
You may notice that sometimes we didn't talk that smoothly on the stage. There was a weird reverb - and the "Hau den Lukas" (“Test your strength”) machine in front of the tent was also quite loud, so on behalf of everyone who performed, we apologize for that. Hopefully the info still came across well though.
Your live questions to Jona and Laurin:
What about repairs? Markus says that the workshop partner will be announced soon especially for the bigger problems → so there will be workshops.
When can you touch the Sion? There will be a tour in the fall, there will be two "marketing vehicles" , Laurin does not want to promise a test drive yet, but you will be able to touch the Sion then.
No more range increase, so no bigger battery.
The LFP battery is very cycle resistant the warranty covers BIDI charging. Markus also emphasizes that the battery will continue to function even at the "end of life" of the Sion.
To the bidirectional charging is inquired. Sono will make it work on the hardware side and shortly after SOP also on the software side.
There are currently no cooperations with charging station operators, but this may be possible until series production. The Sion will be Plug&Charge capable, adds Jona.
Pre-conditioning the battery for fast charging will be possible.
A mountain dweller asks up to what gradient the Sion can recuperate. In normal driving mode, recuperation is at -0.2 G says Markus. Beyond that the normal brake must help. So In Tirol or at the Oberjoch in the Allgäu you can free the brakes from rust.
Towing load still "tbd"... Laurin still needs a commitment from a supplier. When that comes, the towing capacity will be announced, before that it will still be tested.
Can the Sion be used without a cell phone? We asked again: YES. Otherwise, it is of course practical to be able to use Android Auto and Apple Carplay.
+++ MEDIA COVERAGE +++
From Süddeutsche Zeitung to Stern and Capital, there was the desired media echo in many media.
https://www.autozeitung.de/sono-motors-sion-2018-preis-technische-daten-194795.htm
“Abendschau” of the Bavarian State TV also has some coverage:
“Elektro-Automobil” shows all previous prototypes since the Twingo face to face each other in pictures. The new photos of Sono emphasize the solar cells strongly overdrawn. In the original you can see a slight shimmer, not as blatant as in the "marketing photos".
https://www.elektroautomobil.com/newsbeitrag/vorstellung-sono-sion/
"fully charged" rolls over even without a party - and gets to the point: A car that can earn its own money. More than 100.000 views, impressive.
+++ INTERIOR VIDEO +++
For 10 weeks there was a "Tech Video" every week - with the "Interior Part 2" the mini-series now comes to an end. It was important for me to show that the Sion is now on track, and is being developed from scratch by a creative and motivated team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRfFsNHWY2o
Several people asked about airbags - here is the link directly to where the six airbags are explained.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRfFsNHWY2o&t=330s
+++ 112 +++
The event has reached a lot of people outside our "Sono bubble". What amazes me: it was not understood by some that you can charge the Sion also without solar - at a household socket or a wallbox. "112 km per week is pretty low though for my weekly driving needs". Many think the Sion can ONLY be charged via solar. We can still do better here.
What came across positively in comments - the "Model 3 SR" has a 55 kWh battery, the Sion has 54 kWh. Tesla states well over 400km, Sono 305 km.
+++ FUN FACT +++
Film tip: The recycling lie". A very good report about plastic recycling in 2022. Afterwards you feel sick, but you know why we need to do better. After this, your next visit to the supermarket will be different.
And for all those who can't get to the Mediathek because of country blocking, there is also an upload:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wi8B2-JetA
Have a nice week, stay healthy.
Sebastian, Astrid and Andreas.