#41 (EN): US-Roadshow, Infotainment-Testing
Have a great Sunday. Autumn is here - today we have a whole cornucopia of different topics from our favorite startup.
+++ HOWDY +++
Sono starts a small roadshow in the USA.
The SVC3 Sion was first shown in Munich at the "Celebrate the Sun" event, and now investors in the U.S. get to see the result. New York, Boston, Detroit, San Francisco and Los Angeles are on the tour roadmap.
Maybe something will turn up, there are talks planned with investors, customers for Sono Solar, presentations on sustainable mobility. Sono is traveling with part of the A-team, Laurin (CEO), Torsten (CFO) and Thomas (COO) are on site.
The Sion is shown - but it won't be available in the US (for now). Sono has summarized the most important questions in a blog post:
https://sonomotors.com/en/blog/usa-here-we-come/
I'm not going myself, but I have enough friends in New York who will independently supply us with photos. They already know about it.
Monday (10.10.) we will start in New York - until Tuesday noon the SVC3 will be on display in Times Square. From afternoon on, the Sion will be on display in Brooklyn at the "Glass House", until Wednesday evening. Further stops of the tour are Boston (14.10) and Detroit (17.10) - dates are bookable now.
+++ SCANIA +++
Sono has a new pilot project with Scania in Luleå, Sweden. There will be 1 kW peak each (the Sion for comparison is 1.2 kW peak) mounted on six buses, with the goal of saving over 1000 liters of fuel per year. There were also negative comments on Twitter, 6 kW peak in total is not a huge project. All beginnings are difficult.
https://sec.report/Document/0001171843-22-006496/#f6k_100722.htm
https://twitter.com/SonoMotors/status/1578431350083702785
Direct link to the press release:
https://sonomotors.com/de/press/press-releases/sono-motors-acquires-scania-and-llt-as-customers/
+++ ROBIN & LAURIN +++
At the IAA, Robin and Laurin meet in front of the Solar Depositor, and Laurin gives a tour of the booth. If you want to have a virtual tour, here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNfkJzs_kfU
+++ AUTOBAHN +++
Laurin shares the video of the SVC3's highway trip from Nuremberg to Munich.
https://twitter.com/LaurinHahn/status/1577931904812187648
+++ AUTO TROPHY +++
Sono can also be selected in a category in the Auto Trophy competition. You first have to click through various models, especially combustion models, whether you know them or not, until you see the Sion.
https://www.autozeitung.de/auto-trophy-2022-202467.html
Danke Kay für den Tipp.
+++ INFOTEST +++
A few days ago, Sono wrote to newsletter subscribers asking who would like to test the infotainment and give feedback. The dates were quickly sold out. Andreas from the admin team did not miss the opportunity to "lend a hand". In a "seat box" prototypes of the infotainment system were shown and feedback on comprehensibility, layout and structuring was requested.
The concept already seems coherent. Asking users at such an early stage is exactly the right way to go. There was a lot of feedback and also some new ideas to make it easier and, above all, more intuitive to use. What could be seen there made Andreas want more, who also contributed a few feature suggestions right away.
+++ FINANCING +++
Sound reporting includes not only reporting on what is happening, but also on what is not happening. There is no update yet on the necessary funding. Maybe there will be new insights in the context of the USA trip, let's hope. Recession is dumb.
Friday night a new SEC document (F1 filing) was released. It states on page 3:
"We currently expect that we will need at least € 242 million in external funding until the start of production of the Sion. In order to meet the targeted date for the start of production, we expect that we need to raise approximately half of the required external funding in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the remainder in 2023. We have been and are actively considering various financing options, including registered offerings of newly issued shares and other equity securities."
Not new: There is still a shortfall of 242 million euros until the start of production. About half of this (approx. 122 million euros) is expected to arrive at Sono in 2022, with the rest to arrive in 2023. This is the only way to maintain the timeline until the start of production in the second half of 2023. Shares and other equity securities should do the trick. The value is the same as in SebNews #38, where we reported on the status from Q2/Earnings Call.
Source:
https://ir.sonomotors.com/sec-filings/sec-filing/pos-am/0001104659-22-107188
+++ UPDATE, 1.10.22 +++
20,397 reservations as of 1.10.2022 (previous month 20,014) spit out the homepage.
https://sonomotors.com/de/who-we-are/
+++ FUN FACT +++
EnBW is a veteran of e-mobility; from charging cards to charging stations, the company has been offering products and services for many years and knows its stuff.
EnBW helps newcomers with a blog that answers the most important questions about making the switch. One has to smile when it comes to the recommendations for caring for the battery.
"It is also advisable to have the high-voltage battery serviced by a specialist once a year. This involves removing dirt from the terminals and treating the battery with grease." After that, he said, you're ready for optimal charging performance.
I’m oily, I’m happy does not apply to high voltage batteries.
https://www.enbw.com/blog/elektromobilitaet/laden/ladezeit-beim-e-auto-welche-modelle-laden-am-schnellsten/ (blue box - "This factor has the strongest influence")
Other blog posts also contain more funny recommendations, such as "After eight years or 160,000 kilometers of mileage, electric car batteries should be replaced.". Really? It’s 2022!
Sono is already thinking about service modules that customers can carry out themselves. A replacement after 160,000 kilometers should be unnecessary for the Sion, as well as greasing the high-voltage battery.
If you have a lot of time and want to do that on your 12-volt battery, where the terminals are exposed, okay. Maybe. To me as an electric engineer, it sounds like replacing blinker fluid. Grease on the high voltage battery could only lead to grease lightning. Orange in the car means danger.
Keep healthy and fat free!
Sebastian, Andreas und Astrid