Here in America we have an obsession with bigger and badder cars that’s causing our roads to clog with SUVs and pickup trucks. But that isn’t the case everywhere; in fact, some places are of the opinion that personal mobility needs to get smaller before it gets better. One of those places is Sweden, where a startup has begun designing a cutesy two-person microcar that’s shipped like IKEA furniture.
Called the Luvly O, the new microcar concept doesn’t get its name due to its lovely appearance. Instead, the company says it’s because the O is a “Light Urban Vehicle,” or LUV. Basically, that means this car is just 106 inches long, 60 inches wide and 56 inches tall. For context, that’s half as long and 17 inches narrower than a BMW 7 Series.
The O also clocks in at just 399 kg, making it less than half the weight of a Mitsubishi Mirage. Despite its diminutive dimensions, the Luvly O still manages space for two adults up front and trunk space in the back for 265 l of stuff.
Now obviously, having a car of this size is going to come with a couple of downsides. While it can manage a top speed of 90 km/h, the small size of the Luvly O limits the battery space on board, so this EV can manage just 97 km on a single charge. Sure, that isn’t loads if you want to head out on a road trip, but for pottering around town and driving to and from work each day, I’m sure that’ll be just fine.
If the prospect of recharging regularly terrifies you, then you might be pleased to learn that the 6.4kWh battery in the Luvly O is actually a removable unit that can be taken out in two sections. According to Elektrek:
“But that’s not the best part – the battery is two separate units, each weighing 15kg, and they are removable.
“So, sure, you can plug in the car to charge it. But what if you park on the street and don’t have access to a charging point? Well, you can just take the battery with you into your apartment and charge it there.”
The battery isn’t the only part of this car that can be taken off whenever you fancy. That’s because the whole thing is built basically like a piece of IKEA furniture: it’s all flat-packed. And it’s here that the real innovation of the Luvly O shines through, as the company hopes to one day licence its flat-pack assembly for other tiny car manufacturers to use.
The build process for a Luvly O will see the company create all the parts at one factory. These parts will then be loaded onto shipping containers and sent to their destination country. There, the parts will be put together, and the finished car will be sent off to its new owner. The practice will greatly reduce shipping costs for the cars and means that a single shipping container will be able to hold the parts for 20 cars, according to the company.
Just because the cars are assembled in this manner doesn’t mean that they will be about as secure as an IKEA wardrobe. Instead, the company says it was inspired by the safety cell construction found in modern single seater racers to ensure the car was as safe as it can be. And as well as being safe for its occupants, smaller, slower cars like this have also been found to be much safer for pedestrians than oversized SUVs we see out on the road today.
But what do you think of the Luvly, is it something you can see taking off? Or will the man have to pry the keys for your pickup truck from your cold dead hands?