Sono Motors’ ‘Solar Bus Kit’ is a solar panel array which fits onto the roof of a city bus in order to provide auxiliary power, reducing fuel consumption in a combustion engine vehicle or increasing the energy capacity of an electric one.

The company says it will focus on commercialising its ‘Solar Bus Kit’, which (despite the name) is intended for trucks and trailers as well as buses.

YA II PN Ltd, a hedge fund managed by Yorkville Advisors, has agreed to invest an undisclosed sum in Sono Motors in order to keep it solvent until at least the end of 2024.

In May 2023, Sono Motors announced that it had filed for a protective shield proceeding with the Munich Local Court when the business became insolvent.

Sono Motors has agreed to supply a customised version of the ‘Solar Bus Kit’ to pepper motion, who will integrate it with a Mercedes Citaro C1 bus which has been retrofitted with pepper motion’s e-powertrain.

At its event, 'Celebrate the Sun' the German tech firm unveiled a solar-powered retrofit solution, the 'Solar Bus Kit', which is targeted at operators of diesel buses who want to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and save on fuel.

Jean Chereau S.A.S of Ducey, France, has announced a partnership with Sono Motors GmbH of Munich with the intention of developing a test vehicle to study the integration of a new solar solution into a high-volume production refrigerated trailer. The test vehicle will form part of the firm’s demonstration fleet and will be on show at the 2022 IAA event.

CV builder, MAN Truck & Bus SE of Munich and Sono Motors GmbH, a Munich-based start-up (2016), have signed a Letter of Intent agreeing to investigate technical and economic feasibility of integrating Sono Solar Technology into MAN’s eTGE electric transporter.