European Union supports Sono Motors

The solar car start-up is being subsidized by the Horizon Europe program. Whether that will save the company's future is unclear.

Sono Motors will receive funding from the program, according to a report in the Spiegel Friday a grant of 1.4 million euros from the European Union's Horizon Europe program. However, no specific sources can be found in the report. In total, Sono has thus collected funding of a good 3.3 million euros since its founding in 2016.

However, the future of Sono Motors is uncertain even with the cash injection. It was only in December that the Munich-based start-up launcheda rescue attempt for its own car, the Sion: the reservation campaign for 3500 vehicles will run until the end of January. This was supposed to raise 100 million euros. So far, it appears that only 44 million euros have been raised. According to co-founder Laurin Hahn, the rest is to be filled by investor money.

If enough money is raised, Sono Motors wants to build a pilot series this year. The solar cars are then to be produced on a larger scale in 2024. The cars are to cost 30,000 euros and produce some 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 is to continue operating in the event of failure.