This Swedish startup wants to be the Ikea of EVs with tiny, flat-pack cars that cost $11,000

• Swedish startup Luvly is working on tiny electric cars for urban environments. 
• The Luvly O, its first car, will cost around $10,700 and offer 60 miles of range. 
• Luvly plans to flat-pack car parts and ship them to “microfactories” near where customers live. 

If Ikea made an electric vehicle, it might look a little something like the Luvly O. 

The Swedish startup is looking to sell customers on tiny urban EVs that are kinder to the planet and contribute less to congestion than buzzy models like, say, a Ford F-150 Lightning or Tesla Model Y. 

What makes the Luvly O different from other little EVs? The idea is to flat-pack each car’s parts — much like an Ikea Malm, Kallax, or Billy — and then assemble them at “microfactories” close to customers, cutting down on shipping emissions and costs. 

Learn all about the Luvly O below:

Luvly was founded in 2015 and the O is its first model. It’ll launch in the second half of 2023, Luvly says.

 

The adorable little EV aims to solve some big problems by being more affordable, more efficient, and safer than other electric offerings.

“Luvly was founded on the belief that the negative aspects of cars – environmental harm, cost, danger to pedestrians and other road-users, space inefficiency – can be mitigated by combining modern technological solutions with futuristic design,” Håkan
Lutz, CEO and founder of Luvly, said.

The car will cost around 10,000 euros, the equivalent of roughly $10,700.

 

It’ll have a top speed of roughly 56 mph, so it’ll work for highway stints. Better make them short, though, because the Luvly O will only offer around 60 miles of range.

 

Its
batteries are removable, meaning owners can swap in fully charged ones rather than waiting at a charging station.

 

At roughly the size of a Smart Car, parking should be a breeze.

Luvly says more urban models are coming down the line.