Slick Solar, AVAS, World Domination, Community Crew
Have a beautiful Sunday! Labor Day is over - and here are the weekly news from our startup of hearts to relax :
+++ SLICK +++
The prototype has got the next generation of panels. Instead of the Citroën Cactus wave optics or the "Solar Sixpack", the integration is now smooth and nearly unnoticeable.
https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1387793196965666818
+++ DEVELOPMENT STATUS +++
On Friday, Sono published a development status again, this time in week 14 (April 4th to 10th). The news from Friday was already three weeks old, but the transparency is still attractive.
- "E2E testing and presentation to investors successful". E2E means "end to end" testing, i.e., a function from triggering by the user to successful execution. The addition "to investors" indicates potential additional cash on the horizon, but the investors want to know beforehand what is show is and what is real. Success probably means that it went well.
- "AVAS issue fixed, waiting for an SW update". AVAS is the beeper that warns pedestrians about silent electric cars - required by law.
https://sonomotors.com/site/assets/files/5830/sono-motors-dev-sprint-review-cw14-21.pdf
+++ NEWSLETTER +++
In the last Sono newsletter (May 1st) there was it is a very interesting picture for the attentive observer: the lost first (!) prototype from the garage, the SVC0, the Twingolette with the range extender. For a long time, many (and I admit, myself too) were not sure whether the box ever existed in this form. You only ever heard of how things were glued together by using YouTube tutorial knowledge. But obviously - the box is there. And it is now in Waldmeisterstraße. At least that's what the background looks like.
The box looks a bit like pitting, without exterior mirrors, missing side windows, as if the thing had been stored in a barn for years. If you look at the picture from a little distance, you will see that the rims with the steel ring and the cover look almost like the Sono logo. That would be stylish rims for the Sion. They look almost like the legendary "Fuchsfelge" (if anyone still remembers these):
https://mailchi.mp/sonomotors/monthly_03_rs_de-522726
+++ WORLD DOMINATION +++
There he said it - "world domination"! A - in my opinion - very intelligent interview with "Hy", a business podcast from Axel Springer. The second part is very worth listening to and reports on Sono's attempts to collect funds from the wealthy elite in Germany.
https://hy-podcast.podigee.io (Free)
+++ NEW IN 2022 +++
As the start of the Sion pushed back to 2023, as was also heard in the podcast, the rules for EU homologation in 2022 apply. Auto Motor Sport has created an overview of which assistance systems will be mandatory. Of course, this also applies to the Sion.
What was new to me is the "intelligent speed assistant". The car must warn with a pulsing accelerator pedal when the applicable speed is exceeded. There is also the emergency brake assistant, the emergency lane departure warning, and a few more. But it shows that the Sion will - and must - move with the times. And it is still a fun fact, because many things are coming that we have always wished for, but now it has to be included by the law.
https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/verkehr/diese-assistenzsysteme-sind-ab-2022-vorgeschritten/
+++ LEFT AND RIGHT: VOLKSWAGEN WAY-TO-ZERO +++
1% of all worldwide Traffic emissions are caused by vehicles of the Volkswagen brand. Last week there was a whole day of the "VW - Way to Zero Convention", almost nine hours on the topic of sustainability and e-mobility.
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/waytozeroconvention
I haven't seen everything, but a few highlights:
- Car sharing will be one of the big issues at VW in order to use the car more efficiently.
- "We have strongly fluctuating renewable energy generation on the one hand, and huge storage capacities in e-cars. We have to bring that together" (with bidirectional charging). Some of them have understood it at VW.
- We all know Robin Schmidt (Robin TV) from numerous reports on Sono. At the moment it has become a bit quiet, there was a short "Beef" because Sono was broadcasting a live show at the same time as Robin and so the audience was reduced. Peace! Now Robin has produced a contribution for VW and does the math: E-cars are cheaper in the full cost calculation: "Let's do the maths: Are electric cars a reasonable choice?"
https://youtu.be/Bt2ir-Dk_Hs?t=172
- VW Elli (the wallbox and energy division) has presented the concept of the "Laube 25", a mobile office with a solar roof and home storage on a trailer. The highlight: Not only can the mobile office be supplied with the energy from the solar roof, but the car can also be charged. And if the sun is not shining, the office can be operated from the car battery via bidirectional charging, for a "bidirectional espresso".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZTksCCvtbc&t=6s
+++ JOBS +++
A whopping 56 jobs are currently advertised on the Sono homepage. Two new ones were added last week:
Lead Customer Success: Your goal is to promote customer satisfaction for a better understanding of customer needs.
Senior Product Manager Aftersales (aftersales = sales after the customer has taken over the car): "King of winter tires and wiper blades": You are responsible for the process for the customer journey in the aftersales / services area. The new Senior Product Manager Aftersales might find a business idea in today's Fun Facts below.
https://sonomotors.jobs.personio.de
+++ OPEN CALL: ADVISTORY COMMUNITY CREW +++
I have been an advisory board member for some time now. It's a lot of fun, I'm in contact with Sono almost every day - and at a startup, one person can still make a difference. It has been just right the way it was in the past few months, and everything was doable on the side. Now Sono is growing fast, and by the time the test drives start again, there will be more to do. Then the only thing left for me to do is not to do / prioritize things or to build up a structure. For the future, we as a community must also grow with the task. So I wanted to ask who might be interested in participating in a kind of "community crew". If you are interested in getting involved in any way, please contact me.
In the first step I just need to know:
a) who are you / where are you from?
b) Reservation holder or Follower?
c) May I tell others who you are or do you prefer to be anonymous in the second row?
d) How could we communicate in a group, which communication would be ok for you (e.g. WhatsApp group, web forum, Slack)
For me, the community is not just reservation holders, it's everyone: fans, critics, small investors. I also find criticism valuable because it shows where there are still weaknesses. If you feel like you want to join a do a little more, just send me an email to seb@sono.community
It will not start right away, in the first step I just want to see if there is potential interest in such a team.
+++ FUN FACT +++
Do you know which aftersales product has the most significant margin? Wheel locks. They cost less than 5 euros from the factory, and sell for 50-60 euros, even more at some OEMs. Many customers are willing to dig deeper into their pockets when it comes to security, and many buy anti-theft wheel caps from their manufacturer because they fit "their" car exactly. They are exactly the same for many models, and you could easily get them from other sources.
Fun Fact II: the counter-measure kit to "overcome" such a lock costs 80 Euros on Ebay.