German Solar-powered Sion EV solves 'biggest hurdle' with charging: Sono CEO

Four wheels versus Apterra’s three. Less range and slower recharging. Still, this car would not need me to hook up to our grid here in the Keys:

Germany’s Sono Motors (SEV) is trying to solve the charger conundrum with its Sion crossover EV. The Sion has 456 solar half cells embedded into its body panels in order to harness the sun’s power to charge the car’s battery. And the Sion is coming out soon, as early as next year, and likely coming to the U.S. too.

“We’ve brought [the Sion for] first time to the U.S., firsthand, first day here,” Sono Motors CEO Laurin Hahn told Yahoo Finance, at an event outside the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square. “Incredible car, $25,000, family-friendly, affordable, solar cells in the whole car body - it’s recharging itself [right now]. And it’s really meant to be that mass-market electric vehicle.”

It’s an extremely compelling, though utilitarian, package for the price. However solar charging only makes sense based on how much energy the can the car absorb from the sun; on average it needs to be a non-trivial amount.

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