Why Sono Has Dropped Its Solar Car Project

• Sono Motors drops its Sion solar car program, just as the solar-powered hatch was slated for production later this year.

• The company plans to focus on its commercial solar power offerings, and hopes to sell the Sion program to another automaker.

• The Sion targeted a starting price of $25,000 and would have featured a composite exterior with integrated solar cells.

Just a few months after Sono brought its planned $25,000 solar-powered Sion crossover to the US, ahead of the planned start of production and sales in 24 European countries in the second half of 2023, the company has abruptly revealed that it is dropping production plans entirely.

The German startup, founded in 2016, had touted a crossover hatch with a solar panel skin promised to add 70 miles per week to the car's range while offering a rather spartan interior. The goal was to offer a low starting price, with the company already securing 20,000 private reservations and 22,000 pre-orders from fleet operators by last fall, ahead of the planned start of production in Finland.

Now the project has been canceled.