The cheap solar-powered car you might NEVER need to charge | SONO SION
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- Опубліковано 14 чер 2024
- Imagine a car that can charge using the sun, can generate an income via a car sharing scheme and is also affordable to buy. Sounds like a pipe dream, right? Think again - say hello to Sono Motors' Sion electric car.
Jack heads to Northern Munich to see how the 2015 prototype of the Sion has advanced to a 2021 version which has 7.5 square metres of solar panels now beautifully integrated into this spacious and practical electric car. With an average of 70 miles of range being added every week from being just parked outside, and up to 150 on a sunny week, you could feasibly do all of your driving using solar power. But don't panic, you can still charge by plug if you need extra miles!
Yes, the Sion might lack luxury and have less tech than other electric cars on the market, but this is what is so great about it as they have designed this car to make it affordable. Also, which other EV do you know of that has moss inside the dashboard? It's straightforward, simple and makes so much sense.
Timestamps:
0:00 Sunny recharge
1:40 Prototype to production
2:49 So much solar
4:14 Battery & charging
5:08 Familiar face
6:37 Internal moss!
8:04 What's new?
9:03 First drive
10:32 Always charging
11:24 Super solar panels
12:23 Flat floor
13:05 Why matte black?
13:46 Make you money
14:55 Big, boxy boot
15:57 Just the one Sion
16:23 When & how much?
17:25 Just makes sense
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#ElectricCars #ElectricVehicles #SonoMotors #Sono #SonoSion #Sion #SonoSionReview #SolarCharging #SolarCar #SolarPanels #SolarCells #CarSharing #Solar #Munich #Germany #AffordaleElectricCar #AffordableEV #SmallEV #SmallElectricCar #SolarEnergy #CleanEnergy #RenewableEnergy #GreenEnergy - Наука та технологія
Is the affordable EV we've all been waiting for? Tell us what you think about the Sono Sion in the comments below...
SONO SION seems very cool! But I would love to see Fully Charged cover Aptera. They seem much further along in the development of practical solar-electric cars
Unfortunately, still have to wait another two years..
until then, Dacia Spring is the most affordable EV...
Props to the crew who make these videos.
As, increasingly, when the video starts, for a split second, I don't know if I'm looking at the actual video or I'm getting a pre-roll ad for some new model of car. The quality is indistinguishable - which is very much a compliment, as those corporations are paying mega-dollars to make their ads look top notch but you guys are easily matching or exceeding that on a routine basis.
Very impressed and felt I ought to give that due credit.
(Particularly because I'm old school and remember Robert's "Wet Liberal Weekly" videos. The transition is astounding. Some actor moaning limply into his camera phone - 144p quality, no doubt - has turned into a small empire on the bleeding edge of a revolution. You see, it does ultimately pay off to be bloody-minded, after all.)
What is does Lfp battery’s mean?
It may not be to everyone’s tastes, it may not even be suitable for me, but it makes me happy to know there are people working on products and technology such as this.
As a german, I don’t want to hear about this company any more. Now they claim 2023 for production, it was introduced in 2017. I am happy they are licensing the solar technology. No hope for the car
@@manup1931 i waited for this car for years. but it seems they will produce some at least “The expected start of production will be in the first half of 2023. We plan to produce all reservations as of today (currently 14,000) in 2023.”
@@manup1931 Being German as well, I truly respect your giving up hope.
Nevertheless I'd recommend the community blog and the regular company news for updates.
In opposite to other companies they act and communicate very transparent and community-driven, esp. their financial numbers.
Both their solar patents and the impressive list of accredited partners feed my trust / confidence in the latest released date of producion start, 2023.
And after all, I very much appreciate the changes for the batteries (increasd capacity from 35 to 54 kWh, and even more the change from Lithium Cobalt to Lithium Iron Phosphate chemistry). This increases environmental sustainability *and* social fairness at the same time, plus eliminating the last fire risks.
During 2020 they suffered from the delivery bottleneck of the component suppliers like any car manufacturer with the small difference of not being able to fill in gaps by shitloads of ready-to-sale cars.
Considering this, my deepest respect to their clever survival strategy, plus even grapping the chance of enhancing a couple of topics, like the battery.
May this lighten up your spirits a bit. 🙂👍
@@Gwydion67 The patents are worthless. The finances are absolutely intransparent. The battery change was due to the chinese manufacturer, who does not produce smaller batteries due to lack of interest. What bottleneck for 2 handbuilt showcars (cost over 1 mill $)?
Ask Chevy Bolt owners about fire risks for cheap EVs.
What besides pure green daydreaming feeds your trust? What was clever or strategic at all?
happy festivus
Solar powered cars is pretty much the holy grail of personal transport. I know there are other companies working on this such as Lightyear and Aptera (though not at a similar price point) but its something more mainstream vehicle manufactures should be taking seriously. Its quite feasible people doing lower millage could quite literally drive for free for large quantities of the year. Big thumbs up to Sono, hope its a massive success!
I can see this as being the ideal rental car in places like Spain for 2 adults and 2/3 children. Pick it up at the airport. Enough room for 2/3-suitcases. Drive to your hotel. Charges in the sun so no charging costs. Small journeys here and there. Back to the airport at the end of your holiday.
I don't because solar will take too long to charge and on holidays you can drive very big distances
@@SlayerHunt109 how so?
@@SlayerHunt109 You can still use the fast charge that charges it in an hour
Some days you will drive long, many days you will stay at a beach with sunny parking place to chose. Underground parkings getting not popular in this case
@@SlayerHunt109 it can keep charging itself during your trip in day time
What a great idea. I fitted solar to my boat and for a whole year never need to connect to shore power. Solar really rocks!
Love the whole ethos of this car. No nonsense, no faff, no extras you don't need. Just an efficient, well designed car that does the basics right.
And not just the basics. I live in a tiny house on wheels. I would like to have solar panels and a home battery but it's not optimal and it's a bit expensive for me at the moment. But with a Sonos I'd get all three.
It is not at all efficient. The solar system gives you 3% more. At max conditions. But the drivetrain is 20% less efficient than the Tesla drivetrain. And it is badly designed, looks ugly and drives like trash, according to a US journalist.
@@vic321344 If you care about its looks then you are either a teenager or an idiot.
@@MrWadsox Tell your line to Apple. They will shurely be lucky not to provide any more products just for teenagers and idiots.
@@Nikenik2001 So its a very tiny house. It would be much cheaper and more effizient to buy a powerwall.
A car that completely eliminates - then reverses - phantom drain!
Stuff like this needs to succeed. To hell with BP, Shell, Texaco etc, I don't wanna refill at the price you dictate now only for you to try to do the same with electricity tomorrow. Reduced reliance on some bloodsucking company to provide you with resources is always a good thing.
Check out the Aptera before you get too excited about the Sion.
@@jeffreypetsinger2967 Lightyear one
@@jeffreypetsinger2967 moneys and practicalities
This car was charging at a rate of 89 watts. If an EV can do 5 miles per kWh it's doing well. So you're looking at 2 + hours to gain 1 mile. So if you gain 6 miles a day you're doing well. If your commute is only 6 miles you may be able to avoid recharging during the summer. Come winter that charge rate will go way down. Battery range will go down. Power usage for heating will go up.
Unless you use a car so little that you don't really need one, you will need to charge this.the only time when it might help is avoiding charging from home. Not when out and about.
@@benholroyd5221 This 1 had only a working Roof panels, which is probably 400-500 watt peak. The whole system is 1.2kw. So you should be able to get 2 or 3 times the 89 watts. But you're right about recharge on the drive is probably only able at daytime in Morocco at walking speed.
Still I see huge potential with this concept
I'm from India and we really need a company like this, who can provide affordable and power saving cars..
I really hope that they succeed. Every startup needs to talk their product up to a certain degree but if they deliver 80% of what they promise, this might be the first electric vehicle that makes sense for a lot of people and is only 25% more expensive than comparable cars of it's class. Without politics helping electric adoption, this will still be a slow process :| 2 Years ago we needed a new family car and the only thing we were able to afford was a Toyota Yaris hybrid for a family with 3 children. It is small but it was the only viable option that at least has efficient fuel consumption. Keep up the good spirit!
I love this idea 💡 so powerful.
they're selling it, so no car of that type for now
A refreshingly "simple" no nonsense EV car with a great twist, an EV car for the masses...
so Renault zoe +gimmick?
@@hagestad sort of yes but Sion feels more substantial has a massive boot, towbar and flat load floor. I’m on my third Zoe right now (ZE50) and I went to drive the Sion in NL, and I think it could be more practical than the Zoe in a 1 car family. To compare: 14 month old Zoe ZE50 GT line (metallic), 4K miles, bought for £22,775.
@@cooltwittertag You cannot buy a Sion. So comparing a product with a dream is not very sustaining.
The Sion is a complete nonsense car.
You mean like the Geely EX3 for under 10k?
These are the type of cars we need. Cars that allows us to absolutely leave the grid and charge from the sun. The more of these cars we have the less Energy we would need from the grid.
Why not just put the solar panels on your roof? You'd probably need to charge it at least in winter and if you do any kind of reasonable milage.
@@benholroyd5221 I believe it’s implemented on the roof as well you would probably have to go to their website and have a look.
@@andrw90210 I meant on your house roof. Cheaper, better positioning, less likely to get damaged or dirty.
@@benholroyd5221 oh I don’t have solar I live an Apartment in NYC
The extractive industry lobbyists will claim this car causes
Cancer
Still born babies
Erectile dysfunction
Spontaneous ignition of plants
Financial ruin; and
Madness
A Brilliant concept and should be in huge demand once they are available. Well done Sono Sion.
The windows of the car can be covered with transparent photovoltaic panels. Some of the panels can be designed to work in low light conditions and even can work on radio waves (perhaps by changing the boot lid round) so the car will be more efficient in Winter. It may also help to use a rounded roof.
But not the windscreen ...... will be too expensive and windscreens get damaged in general
Are there rollable solar panels like rool curtains that you could roll down in side the car to cover the windscreen?
This is one of my favourite episodes on Fully Charged, ever. What a perfectly practical car for local driving. A to B is all that I want, and to be able to do it for next to nothing is a win win. The moment this car arrives in the UK I want one.
LHD only .
This is the car that was designed with me in mind. I would put money down on it now if I could have it in right hand drive in the UK at that price. I would happily plan my driving life around what it could do on Solar, and only charge it for unforeseen use.
Yes same, I've asked them many times over the years about right hand drive but they won't commit. It will take some kind of petition to show them the demand from the UK I reckon
@@Crucioj Honestly if it's as good as the previews have shown it, I'd happily tolerate driving on the wrong side.
@@Crucioj BYD is making right hand for Australia. Perhaps you will be able to buy a Dolphin here in the UK soon.
@@Crucioj I wonder if importing them here might prove too problematic, on top of the cost of a right hand drive conversion for a limited market.
@@Maker_of_Things It's not so much the car, but the way it integrates into the electricity grid. Apart from stuff like the headlamps being aligned wrongly for RHD, the Sono Bi-directional wall box can't be used outside of a few limited countries, so it'd only be able to take charge, not give it back to the house.
I'm subscribed to their updates, and have been involved in the community outreach stuff too, and would buy one if I could.
From Sono's website: "Currently we plan to certify our wallbox in the following countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and France. The wallbox can preliminarily not be used outside these countries. We intend to extend certification to other countries, depending on demand."
I'd be happy with driving LHD in UK, though if the car is not officially sold here it might be difficult to service/insure (not the car itself - plenty of LHD in UK - but the car-share, renting aspects). If you lose the car-share side of things, and the ability to use V2G because it's basically illegal to hook the wallbox to the grid, there's just the solar charging left, since V2L is now appearing in other EVs these days.
I love how in making a cheap EV, they went straight for the van instead of the current crossover or normal sedan. Like they're openly flaunting that they want this as a shit-hauler, not an extreme pinnacle vehicle that EVs had to start out as.
I also love all the sharing bits too. V2G is gonna be really hard to accomplish, but charging off the CAR is actually kind of inspired. I wish Aptera could do the same, tbh.
I think i prefer this than aptera, not as eye catching but certainly more utility!
@@pyrex25 - I would think so. And you could leave the back open to get more sun on it while sitting still.
What a cool car. Simple, affordable, with the environment and common sense in mind.
I want this little bugger. I commute 10km to work, so that's 20km both ways. And the parking lot has no shade. ALL. DAY. LONG.
Finally entering your super hot car after work feels good :D
@@Perfektionist 😆 🤣
@@Perfektionist Yes it does feel good not taking an even hotter public transport 🤣🤣🤣🤣, but in a gas car now. Burning gas. Being all else shitty equal, I save on gas 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@lfla0179 So you want to to pay 25k for a Sono instead of a 10k Geely, which is made out of the same components (except solar and moss)? Quite expensive 10 km communting.
buy ít
I hope this car is successful and they release it in the USA. This would make good use of the Florida sun where I live.
But the avg American drives 70 miles to get breakfast ;-) haha
@@steveemery30 I live in Florida too and I would buy one today if they were available here.
@@MrWadsox Hope you dont need air conditioning.
@@garydmercer The aircondition will eat up your solar yield in a glimpse, especially if you let the car park in direct sunlight over the whole day.
@@vic321344 You don't need to run the air conditioning all day. The car gets hot sure but just turn on the AC 5 minutes before you leave work. No biggie.
Add an air conditioning unit that automatically switches on when the battery is full and the car is roasting in the sun and you’ll have a car that not only charges in the sun but also stays nice and cool when you get back to it to drive. Ideal for the Mediterranean cities.
Absolutely. If the battery is full, and it's a bright sunny day, no reason not to run the air conditioner. Even if the sunshine doesn't provide enough power to cool the interior all the way down to room temperature, whatever cooling you can get out of it is a nice bonus.
Well done! I love this car concept and the whole ethos of the project. I can imagine a car like that in Italy, Spain, Greece , South France, Portugal etc (sunny South European countries). Basking in the sun and getting charged for free , almost all year round. This is a definite winner for me, I WANT one! :)
It would be much more efficient and cheaper to install solar roofs on houses, maybe together with a power wall.
@@vic321344 I don't disagree with that; but if the car can recharge *itself* when you're out and about as well, wouldn't that be better? Some of the smaller EVs coming out nowadays can recharge from a regular household socket, which is already much better than having to find some fancy proprietary socket when you're travelling (or having to install one at home, as an additional expense on top of the car itself).
But I mean, depending on how far from home you work (as a North American, it can be quite some distance without raising eyebrows; I've had *multiple* jobs where I was commuting 40 or more kms to work, each way) you might very well need to give it a bit of a boost for the return trip. And you *might* have an outlet at work, or wherever, to plug into. But frankly, while I really would like to see solar panels or wind turbines on each building, we're not there yet. So if we've got to plug in, then we're (a) looking at the increased demand upon the electrical grid from what hopefully will be multiple recharging EVs; and (b) what I fully expect will be a non-zero chance that if your employer does have sockets there to plug into, that they will also be charging you for that electricity. A good friend has a hybrid, and her employer a few years ago moved into a new building, which has several charging stations in the parking lot, which is fantastic! However, of course, in order to access it, you need to swipe your key card-- which isn't bad in and of itself, since the parking lot is publicly accessible, and I doubt the employer really wants to give away the electricity they've paid for to strangers for free. But of course it also means that they can track which employee is plugged in where, and how much they've used, and charge them for it.
So a vehicle that has the potential, at least, assuming enough solar hours in the area, to minimize those costs by cutting out the middleman and drawing the power straight from the sun is a great idea! And I mean, it's not even new; we've been able to buy solar panels to mount up on the flat roofs of RVs to keep a trickle charge on the batteries powering the lights etc since the mid-Nineties at *least.*
So, yes, let's mount solar panels on all of our roofs, and put in a solar wall as you say; I heartily endorse the idea! But, since we can, why not put them on our vehicles that are *using* that electricity, as well? :D
@@KryssLaBryn A lot of words, so here a short answer: The car needs 15kW (with a k) to drive, the Sion Solar roof has a yield of 90W.
Real world example: The solar roof of the Ioniq5 needs 40 years to pay for itself with its solar yield.
I want one
@@vic321344 No the roof does NOT have a yield of 90W that would be ludicrous. If I recall the exec stated 1.2Kw max yield and that kinda stacks up with a modern solar panel (on a house) generating 300+ watts max.
I really like the functionalist, utilitarian, non-luxury ethos of the Sono - I could absolutely see myself in one of these in the future.
They achieved the peak of "no luxury". That is "not existent".
This is the vehicle I've wanted ever since high school when I formed an idea of what an electric car should be. Tesla makes very nice electric cars and may eventually make a vehicle powered by rainbows and early morning dew, but I prefer a vehicle that's affordable, charges in the sun, and from a company with a CEO I respect. This is brilliant.
So you respect a CEO of a company, who is not able to provide a road worthy prototype within 10 years?
Hes not perfect but I do respect Elon too......a lot.
@UCngpRk_UoxZhwQ129IlziYg yeah, I'm sure it was exactly that simple. Just the way you presented it here no extenuating circumstances, no legal or design changes, no funding issues that required focus to temporarily be elsewhere, no I'm sure that the company had no issues like that and the CEO of course was just kicking back sipping his macchiato in the morning and a 1985 Chateau Nuf De
Pap for afternoon tea shortly before taking a nice long leisurely drive home as million dollar sports car convertible with the wind in his hair and sun shining his Coach sunglasses as he cruised up PCH to arrive at his front door by 5:00 and kissed the kids. And every day was exactly the same. So yeah, I can understand some lazy fuck off CEO like that deserves to be fired and ridiculed. I tell you what, you tell me who did that, and I'll jump on the phone with you right now and we'll call the board of directors and tell him to fire that mother fucker whoever he was. Deal?
The difference is Tesla is here now, and 800,000 will be built this year, and when Texas and Berlin are ramped up 3 million. This company like others are not thinking 2 steps ahead about their manufacturing. You can’t build an affordable car without scale. These guys had no mention of their plans for huge factories. You can’t hand build cars cheap.
Agreed. I would totally buy a Tesla if I had the money, but for now this car would totally suit me as being my dream car to get around in. Especially if I want to go touring in it.
If I was looking for an ev then this would definitely be the one. It makes so much sense, the company have obviously put loads of thought into it. It's not just about the big boys trying to screw us for as much money as they can but a small conscientious set up giving us what we actually want not what they want to give us. I've followed all the videos on this and maybe when it's ready i might just be able to scrape the cash together.
It makes no sense at all. Building a solar system that improves efficiency by 3%, and then use inefficient drive trains and batteries which are 20% less efficient than Teslas. And a heating with a 5kW elctrical heater. Which eats up your whole year solar yields in one winter month.
Please may this be available in the United States!
Even if it's "Eventually."
I told my wife about this a while ago - apparently we are going to buy one! I have no say.
good lass
You have a smart wife. ;)
Smart man
What it is with men becoming so obedient these days? I want men to be strong and do what is best themselves. That is what women really respect even if men cooking is currently in fashion.
@@NoreenHoltzen I am sure, Sherlef was just joking. But imagine, the Taliban were obedient to women. Would Afghanistan do better or worse?
I've been following Sono very closely for years now. If they ever end up selling them in the US, I'm 100% going to buy one.
Look at the Aptera first.
@@jeffreypetsinger2967 That is also a sweet vehicle, but I'm a sucker for hatchbacks. Plus I need more than 2 seats.
Thanks for the suggestion though :)
1000%! I've been waiting for it to premiere too long now
@@prerunnerwannabe Aptera is a hatchback and has more storage space than a Prius. They also sell a camping package that straps onto the back that converts the back into sleeping quarters for two people, if you are into that. You can fit a surf board back there.
@@jeffreypetsinger2967 I mostly use my car when I'm taking passengers or a lot of cargo - otherwise I'm happy to cycle or take public transport to get around. I don't see how the aptera would fit my use case, but I assume it'd work well for North America where many places aren't accessible by bus/train/etc.
Perfect "second car" for the household stuff, including a power generator and battery for the house. Love it!
I love all the "smart" people, who make videos claiming solar panels/cells on vehicles are more trouble than worth because they don't provide much charging power. It's somewhat true on a high powered electricity guzzling daily driver EV with not much usable surface area. But now even gas vehicles today with so many on board electronics & computers that slowly drain the battery if not started in a couple days could benefit from a solar panel used to keep the battery charged & topped off. When the vehicle is sitting non used for a couple days, will make the battery last longer/keep it from going bad early.
exactly. our 3nd car drives pe week no more than 100km and is used for 90 minutes total / week.
rest of the time my ice 12v battery discharges and my fuel tank dosent get filled by some stranger
This is a perfect commuter car for folks who live in the southeast US. No megalopolises. My daily commute of 10 years was 3 miles each way. I don't even want to think about how much $ I would have saved with this car.
I want one as soon as it is available. Now that is really a genuine self charging car.
Same!
I really hope they bring this to market in Australia. I can’t think of any country in the world where this concept makes more sense, than here in Australia and we really need some more options
Since I tested one prototype in Malmö, Sweden, 2 yrs ago, I've been saving my bucks for this one. Its gonna be our 2nd family car. Powering the gears, the delicate house gear on a power cut, just cool way of independence. If you have a bit battery you never left out in the cold, anywhere. This is a game changer for future of short, medium distance commuting. I just love it. €25k is actually nothing if a working couple saves for, say 3 years. Just waiting for it. Im gonna charge my electric unicycle anywhere I go for random trips. =)
Also, it costs 25k before any Gov. grant, after the grant, it should cost about 15-20k depending in what country you live. Not to mention how much gas money wou would save...
Congrats, these vehicles should be made globally. Great job !
It would be cool if they added some extra panels in the doors that you can roll up over the windows when parked, help charge the car faster and keep the interior cooler. Maybe even one for the windscreen.
Double benefit. I like how you think
What a good idea how about internal blinds🙂
Are there not solar panels now which are integrated into the glass? Every little helps.
@@begood6011
Yes,but very small in size. At the moment they can produce the panels the size of 10 inches across. This is still developing technology.
And/or a foldable panel as an accessory with easy plugin for boosting charging when off grid for a while, like wilderness camping
I like the flexibility of the architecture; charge from the sun and/or from the wall, charge as you drive, and an energy source for another EV or for your house trailer or tent! All this in a capacious attractive package. Canada needs this vehicle!
And it is an illusion. The sun delivers around 1.2 kW per sqm max. Solar cells dont have an efficiency of over 50%. You need at least 15kW to drive the car.
This is a perfect car for short trips. Running around town makes more sense in a EV than any ICE. Having it charged by the sun is better still. Best channel on UA-cam. Good work.
I like the fact that there are no optional extras with the car. It makes a logical link with the last time that happened. It was for the Ford Model T which was a revolution.
So probably this car, indicates a new revolution, based on nature and not on numbers.
Way to go SONO MOTORS !
Have wondered for a long time why manufacturers didn’t add solar panels to cars anyway, these guys deserve to succeed.
This is probably just nonsense. Solar power is no party to the energy consumption of a car.
First visible flaw is the specification of a specific model. If the technology was actually useable, it would be a method that exists separate from any vehicle. But before it even approveably works,It's already bound to a brand... Let me guess: the solar panels ad 1-2% to a charged battery.
You will be surprised that there have been solar powered races for a long time.
@@guisteh11 (In the desert, with cars that you can lift with one hand, and solar panels that look like wings)
@@manuell3505 All I'm saying is, it has been done before.
Cost and weight to name a few reasons manufacturers don't add them.
Back in the first Fully Charged video on Sono Motors, I was highly critical of their claims of how effectively their car could charge using solar panels - they went for basically the ideal situation at the equator. But they seem to have revised the numbers a bit, so I'll have another go.
With a 190 mile range from a 54 kWh battery, that implies the "70 miles per week" would need around 20 kWh. That's 72 MJ.
72 MJ in a week averages out to 120 W.
At Munich's latitude you receive on average throughout the year something close to 120 W/m^2 from the Sun.
With solar panels being around 20% efficient, you'd need 5 m^2 of solar panels to get that 120 W. The car has 7.5 m^2 of solar panels but of course they're not all pointed towards the Sun, so that would be further losses.
But yeah, their numbers actually seem to make sense this time, or at least a lot more sense. Although I'm still sceptical as to how well the solar panels will function at such an oblique angle, and how much of a nuisance road dirt will be. And of course, don't park in any shadows - difficult in a city!
Thanks for throwing some numbers at their claims.
I was also a sceptic at first, still wanted one, but saw it as a gimmick.
I am glad they have improved their design, it looks like a viable option for city driving now.
Actually their numbers have risen. Originally the average Km per day was 15.3,. In this video, they are talking about 17 Km per day on average.
I love the idea of this car and the fact that they are working hard on it. But I share your scepticism.
Optimisation of solar panels should really be a priority. If they removed some of the panels from the car and gave customers a simple way to rig them somewhere with consistent sun exposure. Attach an additional battery to fill up etc etc.. They could be multiple times more useful. However not everyone has a roof available so it's ideal for them I guess.. I hope they succeed, and don't get swallowed up by a big greedy legacy manufacturer!
Thanks for presenting the math. I think that, while it seems like "measly" 120 W, I think that people overestimate how much energy they use daily. This car would definitely not be suitable for suburb-ridden USA, where the commutes could be 20+ km in one direction, but it is fine for Europe, where you cover shorter distances, and usually sit in some traffic (slow traffic meaning less use of energy, especially with good regen braking). I think that people need to get ahold of the notion that these average 120 W do not eliminate charging completely, but rather dramatically decrease it, to the point where it becomes non-issue.
In reality the complete Sion roof just delivers 400Wmax, but mostly under 90W. The sides delivered nearly nothing, so they were switched off. So you will never even come near the necessary 20 kWh/Week. Lucky if you get 5kWh/week in a hot bright summer. Thats the equivalent of an ice cream cone. If you dont use your air condition to cool down the heated car.
Love that this is happening. The one unanswered question in my head is. . . am I gonna have to wash it by hand then and with what sorts of products. Can you just imagine that you put it out to rent and somebody thinks they'll be nice and take it through a car wash and it comes out ruined? What sorts of wear and tear issues need to be factored in? Does the charging go down when it gets dirty? What happens if I live in Paris and it gets lots of scratches. . . etc etc etc Would love to hear about those sorts of practical bits.
BRING IT SONO!
The World LOVES You!!!!
Great to have an update as the original video with Robert and Jonny was on of my favourites. I hope we get a right hand drive version in the fullness of time. For me, this car would be perfect. I would buy one now if it were ready. Good work Sono, keep going to final production. It's great to see how startups are doing. While lucid make the car of my dreams, Sono could make the car for my wallet.
Spot on.
This is the car for everyone that lives in a victorian terrace. Don't have to worry about where to charge.
If you think you're going to be able to charge this car from solar whilst out of the sun in the uk from October to March you're really not up to speed on how poor the efficiency of solar is in the UK.
We have 8 south facing 335 watt panels, so peak power generation of nearly 3kw. There are days in January where we don't hit 1 kWh if it's cloudy. Even with direct sun all day that would only increase to 3 or 4 kwh.
At best it will augment your cable charging, not replace it.
(We live on the south coast and are, allegedly, the town with the most hours of sunshine annually on the mainland.)
exactly and that crowd is huge!
@@mentality-monster I think you need to check the difference between kW and kWh...
335W x 8 gives 2.68kW max theoretical, and x 8 hours gives roughly 21.44 kWh, or about a third of a 60kWh "tank" max.
Of course, winter charging in the UK is poor when overcast and rainy, but vertical panels in bright sunlight in the cold can still pack a punch.
Every free kWh helps, and if you have solar on the roof, you're laughing even more...
@@ahaveland The complete Sion roof just provides 400W max, but most of the time just under 90W.
@@ahaveland Lol, I know the difference mate, no need to patronise. I've been monitoring the charts of our victron unit's solar production for nearly two years, we have near perfect conditions here and in direct sunlight in the winter we are averaging around 2kWh generated per day. A good day it's 4 a bad day it's less than 1.
I'm not knocking the idea, but I'm saying be realistic. You are not going to drive 100 miles a week in the winter living on a victorian terraced street without plugging in.
Jack was getting 80 Watts in the video and it was in the sunshine!
I love this car ingenuity. Finally a vehicle that can charge it self. Great video.
Brilliant. Love the simplicity of the design with integration of the solar charging. Send it to Canada ASAP. We get lots of sunshine all year round where I live plus reasonably inexpensive hydro electricity if it needs plugging in.
It's about time someone came up with this.
They already did it doesn't really work. All that cost and weight to get 89w is just not worth it. Just have separate panels.
BYD launched a solar panel EV back in 2004, but the panels can't transmit enough energy to power the car.
Every body talking about Tesla but
You make me happy by sharing this video
That’s awesomeeeeeee
I really hope they keep their progress up on making the best electric cars ever while being absolutely eco-friendly yet super affordable, this could truly be THE future in our transportation!
Hopefully they make different models and styles so that it suits everyone.
I'm really pleased to see how this has progressed since the last video. based on the last video, I didn't hold much hope of the Sion making it to production but this is getting more and more realistic. As one of the many UK residents without a driveway I wish this company all the success it deserves. I hope it makes it to a dealership of some kind for me to test drive sooner rather than later.
Now you are talking. This is wonderful, I'm still hung up with the idea of sharing. I always keep my car in perfect condition and it's always clean. Others using it won't care as much as I, so it will probably get scratched on the bodywork and used like a bin inside. But, I just had a thought, I could rent one when I needed a car and not have the worry of owning it. I no longer need to own a car. This idea has merit. Well done Jack another great piece and well done the young guys developing it.
Awesome .We MUST support them.Icannot wait to own one±
Once it is fully ready and available for the average human, I see my old 77 years old self 4 years ago now driving a car like this. Let me get back to work and by the end of three years, I pay it in cash. Good job!
It's definitely a step forward and as someone who lives in a terraced row of housing, it goes some way towards being a solution to the problems of where to charge.
Solution: Large battery, fast charging once a week.
This will definitely solve a lot of problems for the average consumer who might not be able to install a charging socket in their driveway, who might also not have a nearby charging station.
@@danielwhyatt3278 So you want to charge the car with the average 90W yield you get from the sun? Good luck.
That car is soo well thought out.
The future is exciting too - as solar cells get higher efficiencies - future cars will need even less plugging in.
Nearly nothing on this car really works. Thought out? Maybe. Reliable work? No.
I was stressing for years on why there is electric cars but not the ones that are fully solar. Thank you for this lol
This is what we need. A totally sharing-economy focused approach. Add sustainable supply chain and circularity emphasis in the mix, and we got to the perfect piece for a properly implemented de-growth tool - perfectly balancing out the perceived loss of consumption growth with providing all necessary features to compensate for moving away from ownership to sharing. I simply love this concept - not just the awesome technical implementation but the context around it.
I am definitely entertained. It's what I want. I know the inside feels very basic but that doesn't worry me.
Me neither - mind you my first 4 cars were 2CV's!
Funny how being basic and functional is seen as a negative and we'd rather pay excessive prices for gadgets/toys that we rarely use. Said gadgets/toys even add to the resource intensity of EV's in the short term with manufacture and long term with wear/tear, repair, supply chain, disposal, etc... which is what they're supposed to be reducing.
@@Kimoto504 I understand why "bling" makes people feel good and I can imagine quiet well that this car has very little of it inside. No matter how poor one might be one likes clothes and shoes and things in ones house that are attractive. This might feel like the oddly shaped/styled shoe in the discount shoe shop that one cannot like in spite of intellectually knowing it fits and enables the process of walking and is affordable. Without the emotional connection one would only buy such a shoe out of desperation maybe and some of the people looking at the Sion don't feel desperate. On the other hand I quite like the Sion from afar. I think it could do with seats that weren't black/grey though.
Finally some Sono Motors content again :)
I love that green air filter, great car, will buy one!
I love the concept, especially matte black finish is very soothing for me 👍👍👍😀😀😀
This feels so wonderfully logical and rational. I am proper excited!
Doesn’t it just! Wish I’d thought of it myself…
Great to see the Sion nearing production it's such a great idea and it has some really neat features. I also like the fact that it isn't a huge SUV. It would be great to see it on sale in the UK.
The interior looks sleek and attractive, the solar integration is a phenomenal idea, but I'm really hoping they find a way to make the solar panels either virtually invisible or can custom shape them into the natural contours of the car so it's not super obvious where the solar panels are placed. I really like the direction the car is going overall, it's just the solar panels that I'd like to see some work done.
If they perfectly match navy blue instead of matte black, they would became almost invisible. If they use glossy paint even more so.
EXCELLENT video. Electrifying ideas. Happy Trails!
That's a tasty little run around! Perfect city car, right there.
This is exactly the kind of car I've been waiting for. I hope my honda jazz (similar size and shape?) can make it to 2023 when I'll absolutely be picking up a Sion if they can bring it to market.
I'd have one of those in a heartbeat. Brilliant.
Brilliant. Well done, Sono.
Well, I want one. And it occurs to me that as it is bi-directional if it is plugged in but not going anywhere, you can use the solar to boost the solar on your roof. why would you not want that. As a second car - run about, it makes the most sense of any small EV car I have seen
Agree mostly - except I don't think it a 'Small' EV. Seems to be somewhere around the size of Ford CMax.
The solar system is expensive. To produce and maintain.
What a fantastic little car. The cynic in me wonders whether the big manufacturers are just waiting to see how Sono goes, before jumping in (finally) with their equivalents and putting Sono out of business. I'll be in the market for an all electric car in about 5 years. Looks like I'll have a lot of choice. But I may have to go with a Sono just out of appreciation for their pioneering. :0)
Jack, thanks for a great overview!
This needs to come to Australia! We get SO much Sun that is underutilised!
I live in a rural village. This would be great as a communal means of trips to nearest town and potential battery storage for the house
The quality of these fully charged videos is just insanely good! The video, the music, the sound, the presenter...everything is so refined!
Except the background research, sono is a scam
Yet they talk about "11 kilowatt-hour charging". Amateurs.
@@tsanteri I did wonder why they seemed so excited about 11kW onboard AC charger..hardly a new thing.Maybe i missed something. Great video though.
@@talkandplay It's not about the value, but the unit. :P They're calling it a 11-kWh charger. Call me pedantic, but I'm so tired of people mixing up kilowatts and kilowatt hours. Could be worse, though, I guess - at least they didn't use "kilowatts per hour"! :D
@@tsanteri Well i guess they have to get excited by something but this company's future is far from stable at the moment, i would not recommend anyone putting down the 500 euro non refundable deposit
The cheap solar-powered car Thanks to SONO SION
I am Product & concept Designer In 2000 It was my Idea
But I am unable to make this Prototype
Due to lake of my resources
Now I am very happy in 2021 to see my old idea in
Particle from thanks to SONO SION
In car Industries nobody thinking to make low cost and
Eco car to save the world Go Green Thanks
It would be wonderful to change peoples paradigm to be able to help a stranger out. I want to live in this world
I have personally contacted Sono Motors in 2017, I was very interested in this car. I have almost paid full price 20 000 Eur. The next year they have promissed to start serial production and DELIVERY STARTS in 2019 ! (I still have brochure pdf on my PC).
Nothing happened in 2019-2020-2021 and I could not wait anymore for "cheap EV". I bought 3 years old (19 500 km on odometer) almost new Hyundai Ioniq with 250 km range for 19 800 eur in full specs (leather heated and ventitaled seats etc) and already did another 17 000 km on it with my family.
We are now in late 2021 and SONO Motors say that production will start in 2023. Can you believe it?
You paid 20k for vaporware and a nice brochure pdf? Are you serious?
The "big boys" want to keep the status quo, is up to us simple people with a dream of better tomorrow to do something about it.
As if the "big boys" don't do there redearche and don't have top mind scientists and engineers working for them.
Come on, man! Do you really think that if this was actually practical the "big boys" wouldn't make a car like this and cash in?
As if they are known to not like earning money....
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod 1 example: If not for Tesla we all now still be driving the latest diesel shit. So yeah I thing some companies that want to cash in the old cow are very reluctant to change if they can fool us enough to not invest in new tech.
I like everything about this vehicle, the thought and foundation of it besides the fact that it truly could be the Transportation of the future in plain site here and now, continue the dream and dedication you’ve taken steps in the right and positive direction for a better tomorrow of the automobile industry.,, thank you for sharing it’s encouraging as well needed that people like yourself can and are doing what’s needed changing our past for the future, you would think big businesses and governments with their unlimited funding would be doing the same… take care everyone.., your all in my thoughts and prayers.;,,
Wonderful, love the thought and innovation and wish them the very best. We need a car like this.
Excellent alternative to my station car for my 27 miles round trip country drive to get the train up to London. Whilst I am in Town, it would sit there and quietly top itself up! Genius!
And then you switch on the aircondition to cool down the overheated car and all the yield is gone. Genius
biy ektre yrañ 6⁰ mioe okey 2 way trip
Yeah this is the affordable car Australia needs!
I'm not sure of the practicality of the solar panels in Aus. You'd have to park it in the sun to get any charge benefit. Surely that would end up being lost in the aircon required to cool the cabin back down. With that matt black paint job it would get crazy hot in there. I guess you could leave a leg of lamb on the back seat and use it as an oven.
A farmer in China, a retiree in the US, a fisherman in Greece - we all only drive once or twice a week. This idea is a winner.
Absolutely brilliant.
What a brilliant car, let’s hope it’s soon available to buy...I want one right now!
Me to, good design
I liked how enthusiastic Scarlett has been. I have been waiting for a re-take on this car. Really considering to buy it when it's available
Thanks for another great video update
Most cars on the market aren't assets. They don't provide you cashflow. On top of that, you still need to pay money for petrol or charging. But Sono motors cars is an asset. You get free energy the whole time;even when you're driving you draw lesser energy from the battery because it Is constantly charging. Not only that, you could sell the excess energy to other EVs. You could also use it to power your house with the excess energy. It's worth the money owning a Sion
I like the idea of this, I have some concerns with dings and dents damaging expensive to fix solar panels but if they make it solid and reliable it might be a winner
That's probably why they are only on the hood and the roof, I imagine it would take a bad accident or maybe bad hail to damage them.
@@SgtKaito The car being test-driven had panels all over the car. At 12:20 in the video you can see them all down the side, and they also seem to be on the boot. NOT a car you'd want to be keyed by some oik when you've parked it in the street!! However, I'm 100% behind the forward-thinking philosophy of the company and I wish them success.
I also believe you Sono are using flexible solar panels (which allows them to conform to the curves) and depending on the type of plastic they're using for the outer panels, they may absorb minor bumps without significant damage. That said, I'd like to know how much a replacement wing would cost.
@@rockymac3565 Oh I did not see that, oops. Yeah I see the concern now, hey maybe your insurance will cover it? But yeah I agree, this car is very exciting and I think they could be onto the future of cars!
Imagine gravel hitting those panels at speed.... The hood is still a very vulnerable place.
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod I'd imagine they would've made it at least as strong as a windshield, if not stronger.
This is fantastic, well done sono
Superb car should be sold worldwide
Love from india
This needs to come to the United States. Seriously it's just enough for a great many times and it could help so much to clean up the air.
Ever since you reviewed this car a few years ago, I've been willing this to succeed. Sadly, I believe that it won't be on sale in the UK initially. This is my all time favourite EV, closely followed by the I.D. Buzz
This seems to be the affordable EV we have all been waiting for, hope it is a success
they burned 50 million dollars in 10 years to produce 2 prototypes. They expect to need 400 million more to start production. They expect to produce 14 000 units in 2023. Cheap?
@@jluis333 Compared to other companies overhead that's rookie numbers LOL
The design has really improved over the years!
Absolutely fantastic 👏 I'd love one! Bring it!
This is honestly so well executed. It has really improved. I love the idea that you could own an EV in the city and never have to charge, if your needs are mostly driving back and forth from work.
Its an illusion.
Nice fly
Followed this from the first visit Robert made and impressed they've been able to push on to make it more saleable than concept in appearance . I'm thinking of the practicalities such as our horrible winter days for recharging and can you put it through a car wash . In all seriousness I can see car sharing being the way to go and this would be ideal for the short journeys as and when you need in the cities.
Thank you so much for this perfect video about this great car and the genius team of its engineers! Future will coming in next year with this car)
I need this car!! I don't care about the looks, as long as it takes me from point A to point B, it's for the environment and it saves me money!! Please bring it to the US!!