A five-person family car, The Sion, covered completely in solar panels, is to enter into serial production in the second half of 2023, according to the German start-up developing the said vehicle announced this Monday. The company plans to produce more than 250,000 vehicles over the next seven years at a price of just over 25,000 euros.

Sono Motors is now building a fleet of test vehicles before confiding mass production to Valmet Automotive, a Finnish company which produces vehicles under contract, after years of development. The large black Sion hatchbacks are covered with 456 solar cells which allows them to generate on average enough electricity over a week to power the car 112 kilometres (70 miles).

The car received a battery range of 305 kilometres and is aimed at families as well as car sharing services. Sono Motors already has 19,000 reservations for the Sion, with the average advance of 2,225 euros ($2,225) helping finance development.

Both startups and established carmakers have begun to integrate solar panels on electric vehicles to extend the range. The Lightyear 0 is supposed to begin shipping to clients later this year, but only a thousand or so are to be produced at a price tag of 250,000 euros.

The Spain-based firm plans to roll out a mass market vehicle in 2024-2025. The California start-up Aptera hopes to deliver a two-seat three-wheel vehicle next year and has 25,000 orders. One version of the vehicle with a range of 400 kilometres costs $26,000, while another with 1,600 kilometres in range costs $46,000.