Despite more than 45,000 reservations and pre-orders for the Sion, it was a difficult decision, said Laurin Hahn, CEO of Sono Motors. A crowdfunding campaign launched by the startup to fund production fell well short of its 104 million-euro target and yielded pledges worth around 50 million euros despite a one month extension.
Sono Motors and Valmet Automotive had signed a seven-year contract for manufacturing 275,000 vehicles at the latter's assembly plant in Uusikaupunki, Southern Finland. The first vehicles were to roll off the assembly line at the end of the year.
Sono Group, the parent company of Sono Motors, has seen its share price drop to 0.62 US dollars since its initial public offering in 2021, according to YLE.