Sono Motors
Sono Motors founder Jona Christians (left), Laurin Hahn (right): community funding instead of financial investors for the launch of their solar electric car Sion
Moss as an air filter inside, solar cells instead of sheet metal outside – and the promise to remain completely CO2-neutral in the production of their first model Sion: The Munich electric car start-up Sono Motors has been attracted by unusual ideas for the automotive industry.
With a crowdfunding campaign succeeded the Founded in 2016 companies, got it Private investors on board, secured contracts for contract manufacturing in the former Saab factory in Trollhättan, But now Sono makes in the financing of mass production a sensational backslider: The self-reported far advanced negotiations with financial investors for another round of financing Sono has stopped.
Sono Motors now wants to eliminate the resulting financial bottleneck with an unusual step: with a € 50 million public community funding campaign. The start-up wants to raise the money now primarily in his self-reported 10,000 supporters strong community, the Sonos E-Auto Sion already pre-booked and have paid at least 500 euros. And the founders also want to score with maximum financial openness, which is rather unusual for start-ups.
“Negotiations with large, financially strong investors have shown time and again that they do not pursue our values and goals,” explains Sono Motors co-founder Laurin Hahn. It is true that in recent months, they have deliberately turned to financial investors. Because the capital requirement for the start of a car production is great, but the procurement of venture capital in Germany for start-ups but difficult. Therefore, as Hahn and co-founder Jona Christians explain, Sono Motors had no choice but to speak with major international investors.
However, they have sometimes “bent”, “crushed” between the promise to the reservations and the requirements of investors, Hahn admits. Sono is not alone with these problems: Venture capitalists often try Push young companies toggle contracts,
According to Sono, financial investors wanted to withdraw technology from Germany
The Sono electric car Sion should be sustainable and socially acceptable and produced in Europe. The own sustainability claim simply did not fit the focus of the financial investors on fast profits and aggressive growth. With the money and demands of the financial investors, the Sion would “just as we planned it, for 10,000 people simply did not come on the road,” explains Hahn. In addition, it would have been “by and large a technology sell-out.”
Difficult it was in the negotiations with financial investors apparently also because of a technology developed by Sono. The seamless integration of solar cells into the entire body of the Sono Sion has been patented, says Hahn’s colleague and Sono co-founder Jona Christians. According to Sono, European commercial vehicle manufacturers are also showing interest in the process. But the patent would probably have migrated to a deal with financial investors as well as other technologies abroad, Sono to understand.
That’s why Sono Motors now tried a financing model that portrays the start-up as a return to its roots. In 2016, the start-up company caused a stir with a crowdfunding campaign for a solar cell-clad electric car. At that time Sono Motors took just over 800,000 euros, the subsequent classic rounds of financing with professional investors brought several million euros.
Now the startup is turning back to its community – but by a few dimensions bigger. By December 30, 2019, a new community funding campaign is underway, with which the electric car start-up plans to raise 50 million euros in capital. Anybody interested can take part in it – namely via the Sono Motors website, But Sono hopes for broad financial support from his 10,000 supporters who have already paid a Sion vehicle with at least 500 euros.
Page 1 of 2