Luvly, a Stockholm-based technology startup, is preparing to introduce the Luvly O, a flat-pack tiny electric automobile that it promises will represent the future of urban transit.
The Luvly O weighs just under 400 kilograms, which is around a fifth of the weight of a normal electric vehicle (EV) and is “significantly more energy efficient and cheaper to buy and run than almost all ICE and electric cars,” according to the firm.
“The light weight of the Luvly O means that it is immensely more efficient in-use, with energy consumption on the order of 60Wh/km (96Wh/mi), about two to four times better than ‘full-size’ electric cars,” Luvly told Dezeen.
The vehicle, designed by Joachim Nordwall, previously of Swedish hypercar maker Koenigsegg, is now in the last phases of development and is scheduled to be on sale in the second half of 2023.
Luvly CEO Hkan Lutz, who co-founded the firm in 2015, thinks that light urban vehicles (LUVs) like Luvly have the potential to transform urban travel and initiate a move away from big cars.
“The average European uses a car for 33 kilometres a day, carrying one to two people, in a city, at slow speeds,” he told Dezeen.
“For this, the average car is obviously too big. Superfluous cars produce more pollution, are louder, take up more space and are more dangerous to pedestrians.”
The 100-kilometre range and peak speed of the four-seater Luvly O are provided by two replaceable batteries costing only 15 kilograms each.
It is 2.7 metres long, 1.53 metres broad, and 1.44 metres tall. In comparison, Europe’s best-selling electric vehicle, the Tesla Model Y, is 4.75 metres long and weighs more than 1,900 kilogrammes.
The Luvly O pulls from the design of formula racing cars, with energy-absorbers positioned around the chassis and occupants encased in a “sandwich-composite safety cell” to achieve an acceptable degree of safety without adding weight.
“Ultimately, consumers need to abandon the notion that bigger is better,” Lutz concluded. “Reducing the size of cars in our cities will result in a plethora of environmental and societal benefits, lowering emissions and meaning that city councils can focus on redesigning our streets for people, not cars.”
Luvly says that the energy usage from the manufacture, transportation, and distribution of LUVs like Luvly is up to 80% lower than that of electric automobiles.
The Luvly pieces will be supplied flat-pack to “micro-factories”’ in key markets, where they will be assembled mostly by snap-together before being distributed to clients.
A single shipping container can deliver all of the parts needed for 20 LUVs. According to Luvly, nearly all of the components are recyclable.
Luvly also provides rights to its unique technology platform, which allows businesses to produce their own versions of the Luvly O.
Cars have been steadily increasing in size for decades, but Lutz believes that customers are ready for a change.
“Amongst city-dwellers, there is growing frustration over the polluted air, congestion and cost incurred by cars,” he said.
“Look at how popular E-scooters have become in every major European city if you want any proof that there is an appetite for mini-mobility vehicles.”
In a recent interview with Dezeen, Peugeot’s director of ideas Philippe Emmanuel-Jean acknowledged that electrification may result in smaller city vehicles, while Maserati’s CEO stated that the company is creating electric cars to be as enjoyable to drive as those powered by combustion engines.
