Sono Motors is a Munich-based trailblazer, which develops the innovative Solar Electric Vehicle Sion. Founded by Jona Christians, Laurin Hahn and Navina Pernsteiner in 2016, the company claims to work with the mission to enable a mobility system wherein each electric vehicle is solar-powered and independent from fossil fuels. Now, it has bagged some decent funding for the continued development of solar panel car — Sion.
£40.5M Series C funding
In a recent move, Sono Motors raised €43M (nearly £40.5M) Series C funding led by a collection of European institutional investors including Swedbank and DNCA along with various family offices. The transaction happened under Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, who served as its exclusive advisor.
One of the lead investors, Swedbank Robur supported the company through the Swedbank Robur Småbolag Europa fund, which is led by Mrs. Ulrika Enhorning. This fund has made notable investments in successful startups such as HelloFresh.
“We are delighted to announce that Swedbank Robur has decided to invest in Sono Motors, the German-based developer of Solar Electric Vehicles. We are especially proud to take the role as a lead investor and become part of the company’s journey to disrupt the strongly growing EV market with its revolutionary solar technology,” said Mrs. Enhorning.
Alongside Swedbank, DNCA participated in the round. “DNCA are extremely excited to join Sono Motors on its mission to bring Solar Electric Vehicles into the mass market. We believe that Sono is well-positioned to capitalise on the promising market opportunity and are delighted to be leading this funding round,” said Rajesh Varma, Fund Manager of DNCA Invest Beyond Global Leaders.
A glance at previous investment
This funding round follows the €53M (nearly £48M) funding it raised earlier this year via one of the largest European crowdfunding campaigns. As a result, Sonos Motor has raised nearly €100M (nearly £90.2M) funding on the whole.
“This initial closing of our Series C financing is a testament to the confidence investors have in the Sion and its expected contribution to a more sustainable world,” said Torsten Kiedel, Chief Financial Officer of Sono Motors. “We are confident that our proprietary Vehicle Integrated PV (ViPV) technology, together with integrated Mobility Services, will provide the Sion with a distinctive competitive edge in the global EV markets.”
A sneak peek at Sion!
The Sion is slated to be the first Solar EV to be mass-produced. Already, Sono Motors has collected over 12,600 pre-orders for the same. To detail on the Sion, it is a spacious electric car with a range of up to 250 kilometers that charges itself through the power of the sun. Usually, it takes 30 minutes to charge up to 80% at a fast-charging station. Also, the Sion can be recharged at any public charging station in Europe via a regular power socket at home or any other Sion, thanks to the bidirectional onboard-charger. The five-seater car will hit the roads in early 2022.
The post Engineered in Germany and built in Sweden: Sion, the solar electric car that charges itself arrives in 2022 appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).
