This dirt cheap electric car is the IKEA of electric vehicles

The Swedish car manufacturer Luvly has launched a cheap electric car that can be shipped worldwide as a flat kit. The company is already being billed as the IKEA of the EV market.

Why buy a design sofa when you can also buy a sofa at IKEA that you can sit on for just as long? Why a very expensive mattress with horsehair when your back can also use a mattress from the Swedish furniture company? You can also ask the same question in relation to Luvly.

The ultra-efficient electric car from Luvly

So why buy an expensive MINI Electric when you can also have a Luvly for €10,000? That will be the selling price of this small and light electric car. The company takes its name from LUV, or “Light Urban Vehicle”. Exactly what many people need, a small and light car for the city.

IKEA’s first EV model has specs that make city driving extremely efficient. For example, the electric car weighs only 380 kilos compared to the 1,800 kilos of a Tesla Model 3. This means that the city car is two to four times more economical than a normal EV with an energy consumption of 60 Wh/km.

charging at home

The low weight in turn has the advantage that only a small battery of only 6.4 kWh is required. The battery consists of two separate parts that can be removed. This makes it possible to charge the battery in the living room, as with many e-bikes. It takes one hour for each battery pack to fully charge from a standard European socket.

The top speed of the relatively cheap and ultra-efficient car is 90 kilometers per hour. Not a racing monster, but highway ready, although the EV is mainly intended for the city. The trunk holds 267 liters. Not enough to move around, but enough space for your groceries and holdall for a weekend getaway. When it comes to Sweden and safety, everything is always right. Luvly uses a sandwich structure with additional energy-absorbing foam material to protect occupants. At €10,000, it’s the cheapest electric car you’ll find.

IKEA among electric vehicles

In the end there should be a sporty model, a small transporter and a tricycle, all of which can be built using the same process. Luvly calls the production and assembly process its most important innovation.

And the comparison with IKEA is certainly not only based on the country of origin. Instead of producing the electric vehicles in a central factory and flying them assembled around the world, Luvly ships the parts as flat packs.

Micro factories do the work for you

And don’t worry, you don’t have to assemble the car yourself like you would with an IKEA closet. The packaging is designed in such a way that twenty cars fit in a normal container. These are then manufactured in micro-factories that cover the respective sales regions.

According to the company, a 2,000 square meter micro-factory can cover an area the size of Sweden. These factories have a much smaller climate footprint. Parts of the electric car can also be recycled. Visit the Swedish car manufacturer’s website for more information.