VALMET AUTOMOTIVE, a Finnish contract automotive manufacturer, has lost one of its most important near-future clients, reports YLE.
Germany’s Sono Motors in February announced it has decided to pull the plug on the development of solar-powered electric vehicles in order to focus exclusively on solar panel technology that is compatible with vehicles.
“It was a difficult decision,” said Laurin Hahn, the CEO of Sono Motors, “and despite more than 45,000 reservations and pre-orders for the Sion, we were compelled to react to the ongoing financial market instability and streamline our business.”
The announcement was made after a crowdfunding campaign launched by the startup to fund the production fell well short of its 104-million-euro target, yielding pledges worth around 50 million euros despite a one-month extension.
Sono Motors and Valmet Automotive had signed a seven-year contract for producing 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 this year.
Sono Group, the parent company of Sono Motors, has seen its share price plummet to 0.62 US dollars since its initial public offering at a price of 25 US dollars in 2021, according to YLE.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
