Photo: Sono Motors
Back in December, Sono Motors announced that it would be forced to suspend the Sion development. Unless the 50-day campaign raised €104.65 million ($113.75 million at the current exchange rate), the solar hatchback would have to be put on hold. The fund raising campaign is close to the end and still far from its goal. Sono Motors’ decision was to extend the deadline set last month.
With about four hours to the end, the campaign reached €47,814,254 ($51,974,094), which represents 1,599.1 Sono Sions or 1,900 fewer cars than the company expected to sell. This was not the first setback the idea of the solar hatchback experienced. When they disclosed their plans, Sono Motors suggested they wanted to receive full payments for 3,500 units at €29,900 ($32,501) a pop. When the campaign unfolded, it was clear the startup was counting on any deposits it received to achieve its objective – and it still was not enough.
Sono Motors said it was hard to raise funds because it “failed to explain to investors why the Sion has the potential to become the world’s first affordable solar-electric vehicle and that there is a huge demand for it.” The campaign was meant to demonstrate this last bit to potential investors. Of all the people contributing to keeping the Sono Sion alive, only a bit more than 1,500 are new. The German startup did not inform how much they have contributed to the SaveSion effort.
The excuse the company used to extend the campaign until February 28 (or 33 more days, for a total of 83) was that it was fighting for the future. According to that narrative, the Sono Sion has a crucial role in creating “a world without fossil fuels.” Jona Christians said Sono Motors owes everyone that liked the solar hatchback “more time to activate even more people eager to revolutionize mobility.” The startup’s CEO did not address the concerns that extending the campaign may bring – and he should.
Above all, there is a credibility component that Sono Motors must bear in mind. The startup proposed to wait 50 days to raise the necessary funds and keep developing its solar trike. If it did not meet that target – as we now know it was the case – it would “focus on our attractive solar B2B business, which is significantly less capital intensive.” That was the time it had to prove how desirable the Sion was, and this was the outcome if it failed to do so. By extending the campaign and ignoring its result, the company acts as if it had more time to decide or if focusing on its solar B2B business was not the only alternative.
The way it was presented, the whole point of the campaign was to prove how much demand the Sono Sion supposedly had. Hitting the originally set deadline so far from its goal is probably a hard pill to swallow, but it is also a clear message that Sono Motors may be trying to ignore with its solar hatchback.
Unless the German startup really has investors willing to prove that such a message is wrong, it may be just refusing to take an inevitable decision or insisting on the wrong strategy. Lightyear’s recent episode of having to stop the Lightyear 0 production after it had already started, should have taught Sono Motors the dangers that lie ahead.
Sono Motors said it was hard to raise funds because it “failed to explain to investors why the Sion has the potential to become the world’s first affordable solar-electric vehicle and that there is a huge demand for it.” The campaign was meant to demonstrate this last bit to potential investors. Of all the people contributing to keeping the Sono Sion alive, only a bit more than 1,500 are new. The German startup did not inform how much they have contributed to the SaveSion effort.
The excuse the company used to extend the campaign until February 28 (or 33 more days, for a total of 83) was that it was fighting for the future. According to that narrative, the Sono Sion has a crucial role in creating “a world without fossil fuels.” Jona Christians said Sono Motors owes everyone that liked the solar hatchback “more time to activate even more people eager to revolutionize mobility.” The startup’s CEO did not address the concerns that extending the campaign may bring – and he should.
Above all, there is a credibility component that Sono Motors must bear in mind. The startup proposed to wait 50 days to raise the necessary funds and keep developing its solar trike. If it did not meet that target – as we now know it was the case – it would “focus on our attractive solar B2B business, which is significantly less capital intensive.” That was the time it had to prove how desirable the Sion was, and this was the outcome if it failed to do so. By extending the campaign and ignoring its result, the company acts as if it had more time to decide or if focusing on its solar B2B business was not the only alternative.
The way it was presented, the whole point of the campaign was to prove how much demand the Sono Sion supposedly had. Hitting the originally set deadline so far from its goal is probably a hard pill to swallow, but it is also a clear message that Sono Motors may be trying to ignore with its solar hatchback.
Unless the German startup really has investors willing to prove that such a message is wrong, it may be just refusing to take an inevitable decision or insisting on the wrong strategy. Lightyear’s recent episode of having to stop the Lightyear 0 production after it had already started, should have taught Sono Motors the dangers that lie ahead.
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