Sono Motors will in the future offer its solar panels under the brand name SonoSolar. The renaming is intended, according to the company, to mark the position as one of the leading providers of solar elements for manufacturers and operators of commercial vehicles. The Munich-based startup, founded in 2016, which develops solar panels for commercial vehicles to reduce fuel consumption and thus CO2 emissions, had parted ways with the parallel-running project of a solar-powered electric car for the mass market ('Sion') in 2023. As a subsidiary of the Sono Group, the legal name Sono Motors remains in place, but publicly the company will in the future present its products under the designation SonoSolar, according to the company report dated August 5,
2025.
With this step they want to sharpen their profile and emphasize their exclusive focus on solar technology for mobility, it continues. The message is: SonoSolar provides high-quality solar technology for fleet operators and vehicle manufacturers. This would advance innovative solar solutions in the mobility sector. The solar panels consist of thin, flexible solar elements of various sizes, which are mounted on the outside or on the roof of the vehicles, in order to contribute to reducing fuel consumption by supplying additional electricity when sunny.
Georg Zurmühl, Head of Commercial at SonoSolar, explains the renaming:
“With the rebranding, we want to make our ongoing development visible and put the term 'Solar' in the foreground relative to 'Motors' – after all, we
have not been manufacturing motor-powered vehicles for quite some time. Instead, we stand as a leading provider of solar solutions for the automotive industry. The new brand name and the logo reflect this change, while still maintaining the connection to our groundbreaking beginnings.”
Solar energy for every vehicle
At the interface of solar technology and mobility, SonoSolar develops and delivers, according to its own statements, easily integrable solar systems for use across all vehicle categories: vans, buses, trucks, trailers and long-distance coaches. The offering includes, besides solar modules tailored for the automotive industry, for example also solar charge controllers for low- and high-voltage applications, digital solar data services, flexible and customized integration concepts and complete retrofit systems.
With the solutions, SonoSolar
aims not only to reduce emissions but also to help lower total cost of ownership and increase energy independence—without compromising on design, weight, or performance. The concept prompted the European Commission at the beginning of 2023, as part of Europe’s decarbonisation, to boost the concept with generous funding.
The business model of SonoSolar rests on two pillars: manufacturer integration of solar systems, so that solar modules are already integrated into the vehicles from the factory; the second pillar is retrofit kits for fleets.
On the website it says: “These are designed for high modularity and rapid installation, thereby lowering the barriers to deployment.”
The bus solar kit from Sono Motors, for example, was officially approved at the beginning of this year.
