This little German EV gathers no moss because it's got moss already built in
The Sono Sion uses treated, dead moss in the dash as part of its air filtration system.
Sono calls the moss-filled dash BreSono and uses it to filter incoming air.
Typically, if you had moss in the interior of your car, that would be considered a bad thing. That's not necessarily the case for this small, solar-powered electric vehicle from German startup Sono.
The Sono Sion uses the moss, which is covered with a transparent panel, thankfully, and according to a report Thursday by Electrek, it's part of the Sion's cabin air filtering system. Unlike the moss inside Goodyear's Oxygene tire concept, this moss has kicked the proverbial bucket, but because of its structure, it's still a good filter.
The Sion was conceived as a low-cost EV and debuted back in March with a 35 kilowatt-hour battery and a body covered in solar panels, but this is the first we're seeing of its interior. The rest of the passenger cabin is pretty sparse, with a small digital instrument binnacle in front of the driver and a Tesla Model 3-like central screen sprouting from the dash.
In addition to the mossy dash, the Sono Sion is slathered in solar panels to help keep its 35 kWh battery topped up.
The Sion was initially marketed for the low, low price of $18,000 but -- and this might be a little shocking (pun intended) -- the battery pack costs extra. That is estimated to cost an additional $10,500 if bought outright, or there would be a monthly fee. I know that sounds weird, but it's not unheard of in Europe -- the Renault Zoe is sold this way.
It's unlikely that we'll ever see the Sono Sion on our roads here in the US, but the company says it should enter production for Europe sometime in the latter half of 2020.
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