#51: Waiting for SVC3 CAD, Lightyear 2, Arrival, NOAH
Christmas is coming up fast again this year, just like December 17 - due date for CAD design release at Sono Motors. Nothing is known about it yet.
+++ DEVELOPMENT +++
A new development review for calendar week 48 should have been published the day before yesterday - but there is none. The last report is from December 1. So no update from the official side.
User "Zihwih" (Sion reservation holder #6663) puts it in a nutshell on Twitter: "I wish this year [from Santa Claus] either a few detailed renderings of the @SonoMotors Sion (SVC3) or a final information sheet with everything that belongs to it". Yes!
https://twitter.com/Zihwih/status/1471462852758327298
Zihvwih is certainly not alone. To be fair, the December 17 deadline for CAD was last Friday end of businesss - and there is no way to put out a summary the same day. Friday "“EOB” is Monday at 07:59. Sono is working next week, I know for sure - I have an appointment on site. So there is hope for an update. before the end of the year.
https://sonomotors.com/de/state-of-development/
+++ CRYSTAL BALL +++
While Sono is "finalizing" the SVC3 design, we can take the opportunity to look left us right what else is happening in the EV space. The end of the year is also always the time of the crystal ball.
The Bafa subsidy - German support for electrification - has been extended until the end of 2022, after which it will be rescheduled. The key points for 2023 and beyond have already been communicated, and the Sion fits all the criteria for taking advantage of the maximum subsidy from 2023. Further details are not yet available.
In 2022, the run on e-cars will therefore remain very strong. The €9,000 subsidy is a huge incentive. Especially for leasing in the 24-month range, the subsidy is almost a fire accelerator, because it pushes the monthly rate down by €375. Purchases are brought forward. The threat of inflation is also leading to purchases being brought forward, which means that goods are becoming scarcer and prices are rising. The chip shortage also promotes scarcity.
Then at the beginning of 2023 comes a slump in sales, the plug-in promotion will more or less disappear, purchases brought forward. The slump usually lasts 3-4 months, then it stabilizes. The manufacturers are not stupid, discounts will come, or new models.
Tesla is on the way quite hard, Model S and Model X have been postponed for months - now the bombshell has burst: S and X for Europe only again in 2023, until then only Model 3 and Model Y. Prices all open again. Tesla has raised the used car prices for S and X overnight (!) by 30,000 € across the board. Reason is clear - who now still wants one, can only choose from very few used. UPDATE Saturday: all gone. The list is empty.
https://www.tesla.com/de_DE/inventory/used/mx
Lightyear: Lightyear is approaching the e-car market from the top, like Tesla once did. The "One" is to hit the market next year for €150,000, initially only 10 units, manufactured by Valmet. Now Lightyear CEO "Lex" has announced in a video: A second model is to be created, the "Two," for €30,000 - starting in 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRzpWKV_3_E
Lightyear has apparently taken a close look at the latest Sono slides - the calculation with "four times less charging stops" somehow looks very familiar. https://youtu.be/FRzpWKV_3_E?t=611
Volkswagen had already announced that it would enable at least one vehicle for bidirectional charging from the end of 2022. Now the cat is out of the bag - it's all ID models with the 77 kWh battery. There is no word yet on when it will be enabled. What has been announced is that it will still take a software update to unlock it. VW, unlike Sono, relies exclusively on DC bi-directional charging, which has the advantage in the car of requiring virtually nothing. The DC charging station talks directly to the battery. Disadvantage is, you need a DC wallbox for home, that will not be cheap and a suitable home energy management. But the good thing for us is that if VW offers this, in 2023 the regulations will all be in place to connect the solar power from the Sion.
https://www.elektroauto-news.net/2021/vw-plaene-id-flotte-powerbank-schwarm
+++ NOAH Conference +++
The NOAH conference is about sustainable startups with a business background. Sono was - again - a guest, the presentation is online. You can find some new powerpoint slides there, but no image of the final vehicle (I checked):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFXxm79MXV0
+++ SONO SOLAR / IN THE PRESS +++
The Solar team is busy and acquisitions are being made. There are some fact sheets on the website by target group/vehicle for customers.
Analysts at Berenberg Bank have also probably looked at this a bit more closely and find the solar business more interesting than the Sion itself. Quoted here from the Wallstreet Journal:
Positive PR does good, so here's another Sono Sion test drive video from Fifth Gear - a straggler from the IAA days in Munich.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUEm78CSpvs
There is also a report in German:
https://www.electrifiedmagazin.de/elektro/wir-haben-keine-zeit-mehr-zu-verlieren/11065/
(17.12)
+++ ARRIVAL +++
"Design language" is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind for many when they think of the Sion. And yet, the Sion apparently has a certain recognition value. Last week, the company "Arrival" presented the prototype of a new e-car - especially for cab services. It is already scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2023.
Under the report of Fully Charged, comparisons with the Sion were made in the comments, especially with the first prototype generation: not only on the outside - the folding seats also in the front, the large space, the steeply sloping rear. Maybe the Sion design isn't conservative, but ahead of its time and will come back.
https://twitter.com/SebasFC/status/1471837464146948105
+++ FUN FACT +++
Two turns of a wind turbine are enough to charge the Sion from 0 to 80%.
Time and again, wind turbines have to be turned out of the wind because the electricity cannot be transported in the grid. In 2019, much energy was lost by this in Germany. 2.7 million e-cars could have driven on it for a year on the energy lost. Not because the wind was too strong, just because the grid could not transport the energy because there was no use for it at the time. Time for smart charging solutions and charge when energy is plenty.
Have a great week, happy holidays on Friday - and we'll read you on Boxing Day with an annual review - and maybe new insights from development!
Stay healthy.
Sebastian