Fred Lambert for Electrek:  German electric car startup Sono Motors unveiled the crowdfunded prototype of its battery and solar-powered vehicle; the Sion.
The ambitious project is now one step closer to reality.

The Sion’s most differentiating feature is a new system of integrated solar cells:

“The Sion is equipped with 330 integrated solar cells, which recharge the battery through the power of the sun. To protect them from harmful environmental influences we covered the solar cells with polycarbonate. It is shatterproof, light and particularly weather resistant. Under proper conditions the solar cells generate enough energy, to cover 30 kilometers per day with the Sion. We call this system viSono.”

That’s ~18 miles of range added the vehicle’s ~50 miles (80 km) range for the version with a 14.4 kWh battery pack and ~120 miles (193 km) for the version with a 30 kWh battery pack.

But the key words are “under proper conditions” since a car’s body is hardly the best spot to install solar cells, even though Sono Motors has an innovative way to integrate them:  More Images:

The Sion’s advantage is that it has been designed to be a lightweight city car, which means that its efficiency would require less solar power to propel it further.

Nonetheless, it means no parking in garages or in the shade, which isn’t exactly practical and the reason why the vehicle is mainly a battery-powered car.  Full Article: