European Union supports Sono Motors

The solar car start-up receives funding from the "Horizon Europe" program. Whether this will save the company's future is unclear.

According to a report in the Spiegel Freitag, Sono Motors has received a grant of 1.4 million euros from the European Union's "Horizon Europe" program. However, there are no specific sources in the report. In total, Sono has collected a good 3.3 million euros in funding since it was founded in 2016.

However, the future of Sono Motors remains uncertain even with the financial injection. The Munich-based start-up only launcheda rescue attempt for its own car, the Sion, in December: the reservation campaign for 3,500 vehicles will run until the end of January. The aim was to raise 100 million euros. So far, only 44 million euros have apparently been raised. According to co-founder Laurin Hahn, the rest is to be raised from investors.

If enough money is raised, Sono Motors wants to build a pre-series before the end of this year. The solar cars will then be produced on a larger scale in 2024. The cars will cost 30,000 euros and produce part of the electricity they need from their own solar cells. The start-up also offers this solar technology for commercial vehicles. This part of the company will continue to operate in the event of failure.