Have a nice Sunday. My vacations are also over, too, and I continue with full energy. The next visit on site at Sono is scheduled in two weeks, let's see how far the test team has come.

+++ 20.000 +++

As of September 1, there are now 20,014 active Sion reservations. Those who reserve now find a price of 29,900 euros in the configurator. 

The new reservation deposits seem to be mostly smaller amounts, with the average amount of all reservations dropping to 2,000 euros. It's hard to tell exactly how much the average of reservations is from the press releases, because Sono sometimes talks about gross, sometimes about net, sometimes about nothing at all - sometimes in euros and sometimes in dollars.The cold hard fact is, we are now 20.000 active - and paid - private reservations holders. B2B reservations come on top.

The declining average is also expected, because there is currently only a Sono point awarded for a full down payment of 29,900 euros and the main financing is done via the stock market. There is little motivation to voluntarily put a lot on top of the base fee at the moment.

Which is good, the absolute number is increasing, and every reservation is important - because it shows that there is a market for the Sion.

https://sonomotors.com/de/press/press-releases/sono-motors-reaches-20-000-reservations-for-its-sion-solar-electric-passenger-car/

https://sonomotors.com/de/who-we-are/

+++ ARI MOTORS +++ 

Thomas, one of the co-founders of ARI Motors, shows us the "ARI 458 with the solar case from Sono Motors". 20 km additional range is possible with it, "up to 48 km" a day is said in the video. The cargo space is not affected by the solar integration - no disturbing cables, and also the weight does not increase significantly. This is one of the reasons why ARI chose Sono. And it is important for the ARI 458 - a light delivery vehicle with a maximum of 78 km/h and 7.5 kW power (which also explains the 20 km from the few panels).

We've already had covered the beginnings of the cooperation, in October 2021 the ARI was on display at Sono's booth at the Munich show (and by then the booth was practically full). Great to see the final product now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql9nORXlN2Q

+++ NERVOUS SYSTEM +++

The wiring harness is elemental to the Sion and has already received a lot of attention. In "Technology Video Number 13" with Max and engineers Daniel, Caio and Gustavo, it becomes clear that there is always room for improvement and meter by meter they are still trying to optimize. In the SVC3 shown, 1.8 km of cable are still installed and about 200 control units are connected to it. 

One question that was submitted a lot by e-mail was about electromagnetic compatibility, in English "EMC - Electro Magnetic Compatibility".

Caio is responsible for dealing with this topic. Solar integration puts more stress on the wiring harnesses than on vehicles that simply turn to stone when parked and nothing happens. With the Sion, there's always something going on when light falls on it, and that has an influence right down to the position of the antennas.

And not all cables are the same: The one-meter-long piece that Max holds in his hands at the end has five or six suppliers - right down to the multi-layered pellet of cable sausage, some of which comes from different "suppliers". 

Part of the design is also that the relatively stiff cable harnesses can also be installed well. They are therefore given defined points where they can be folded or bent. Important for later: Orange is high voltage (all fingers off it), black is 12 volts.

If you watch the video and hope to see the English subtitles for better understanding, spare yourself. These are automatic translations from hell. "No one in the video is an expert on AIDS," meaning EDS - Electrical Distribution Systems. Carbon Harness is "Cabin Harness," the wiring harness. And Walking Cycles doesn't exist either. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Yqh6cNDbc

Small (mean) review: The wiring harness was ready in November 2020 as well. But now it's 100% Sono and scalable to build 257,000 as well.

https://www.facebook.com/sonomotors/photos/wiring-harness-completethe-wiring-harness-is-the-assembly-of-all-cables-and-resp/1414222738774667/

+++ NEWSLETTER +++

The official Sono newsletter was in our inboxes on Thursday, but there was nothing in here for us that we didn't already had covered. Vivian from the Commissioning-Tech-Video is the Employee of the Month presenting this isssue.

https://mailchi.mp/sonomotors/monthly_8_de-523872

+++ SIBROS +++

Sibros is the Sono partner for connectivity, live data and over-the-air updates. Now there's a little video from Sibros called "Customer Spotlight: Sono Motors". 24 views are not exactly the blockbuster now. In terms of content, second 27 is interesting, here you can see how quickly the performance values of solar change while driving. And that in turn shows how complex the topic of "solar charging while driving" is. But also what opportunities there are when you get a handle on it. 

https://youtu.be/IB40pF52F88?t=27

+++ FORUM OF THE FUTURE +++

The "Deutsches Museum München" shows not only things of the past, but also those of the future. Under the somewhat academically-obscure title "Electrifying Mobility: Batteries, Wings and Circular Economy to Keep Us Moving", the 50-minute event is all about innovations in the mobility sector. Lars from the Sonos represents solar integration on this one. The recording was posted online the day before yesterday, but must be a bit older because Lars invites you to the "Celebrate The Sun" event at minute 21. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWMo1_T5S1o

+++ BERTRANDT +++

Bertrandt is supporting Sono Motors in building the fleet of Series Validation Vehicles (SVV) of the Sion vehicle model and will show exclusive components at the Automechanika trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany, September 13-17, 2022.

"It is an exciting task to integrate the very process-oriented requirements and standards of the established automotive industry in a young, agile company" - says Hans-Gerd Claus, member of the Management Board of Bertrandt AG. Nicely formulated :-)

https://www.bertrandt.com/pressemitteilungen/sono-motors

"In addition, we have extensively secured and tested the series validation batteries in our laboratories and climate chambers," says Thomas von Harten, Head of eMobility Systems. 

It's always good to validate, and not just with products from China. 

+++ FUN FACT +++

Commercial wallboxes must be tested annually for safety as part of the DGUV in Germany. Some of you may know this from their office, you go to lunch and when you come back, all cell phone chargers, laptop and power supplies have test stickers on them: the DGUV3 team has been in the house again. They now also check the wallboxes.

This is not the case in the private sector. A new scam is popping up, so beware:

Some people are now receiving letters from companies that offer subscriptions to perform tests on private wallboxes. These letters are worded in such a way that you think you have to do it by law and sign up for a subscription. You don't. 

Of course, everyone is responsible for safety, and every now and then it certainly makes sense. But there is no annual obligation in a private environment. 

My most important tip is - don't charge your EV for years at the household socket. That goes well for a long time, but at some point no longer, and then it goes quite quickly. Better to upgrade the socket at some point, if possible. Or just put the car in the sun and charge it there. If it’s a Sion.

Have a nice week, stay healthy.

Sebastian, Astrid.