Swedish automotive manufacturer Luvly plans to produce a minimalist ultra-efficient micro EV tailored for city living, addressing growing dissatisfaction with SUV prevalence in urban environments. Luvly’s unique strategy involves flat-packed transport of vehicle components to micro-factories for assembly—similar to IKEA’s model—significantly reducing carbon emissions and alleviating urban traffic congestion.
The Luvly O, the company’s first EV model, measures just 2.72m in length, 1.52m in width, and 1.43m in height, weighing only 379kg—about one-fifth the size of a standard passenger car. With an energy consumption of approximately 60 Wh/km, it’s 2 to 4 times more efficient than full-size EVs.
A key convenience of the Luvly O is its 6.4 kWh battery, which can be split into two removable parts, enabling easy home charging with standard outlets and eliminating the need for dedicated chargers.
Boasting a top speed of 90 km/h, the Luvly O offers a 267L luggage capacity and high safety standards, featuring a composite safety shell with a laminated structure and additional energy-absorbing foam materials for passenger protection.
Luvly’s innovative production and assembly method involves flat-packed transportation of vehicle components, followed by assembly at local micro-factories. A single 2,000 m2 factory can satisfy Swedish market demands. These compact factories demand less land, deployment time, and capital expenditure, and the EV parts can be recycled once their lifespan is over.
Flat-packed transportation also saves space, fitting components for 20 vehicles in a single standard shipping container, compared to just four assembled cars. Luvly plans to sell the Luvly O for around EUR 10,000. With EV government subsidies, consumers could potentially purchase this micro EV at an even lower price.
Luvly CEO Håkan Lutz sees considerable potential in micro EVs as larger vehicles exacerbate pollution, noise, traffic congestion, and parking shortages in increasingly crowded urban centers. He believes the pursuit of bigger cars reflects humanity’s competitive nature, emphasizing the need for personal distance and self-protection.
Lutz notes young urban dwellers are growing weary of SUVs, suggesting reversing the large car trend could offer numerous societal benefits and foster more people-oriented cities. After launching the Luvly O, the company aims to produce small vans and three-wheeled sports cars using the same manufacturing model.
(Image Source: Luvly)