On board the microcar expansion trend, Swedish mobility brand Luvly wants to reshape the role of the car in cities with an alternative that is cheaper, sustainable and efficient.
Luvly O, the company’s prototype for its first road-ready vehicle, was designed to transport two people at speeds of up to 90 km/h. The starting cost is €10,000 and it is expected to hit the market by the end of this year.
Håkan Lutz, CEO and Co-Founder of Luvly, calls this category of microcar ‘light urban vehicles’ or LUVs, as it is more indicative of the type of mobility they offer.
“Cars are badly optimised for what they are actually used for, which is to transport one or two people short distances within a city,” Lutz told Zag Daily. “We went back to basics and reshaped how we construct four-wheel vehicles for their actual use.”
With that goal, Luvly developed a patented technology called ‘slow formula racing tech’ to build a strong, light chassis that is cheaper and more sustainable.
“Electric cars are big, heavy and use massive amounts of energy and raw materials that are not easy to recycle,” said Lutz. Luvly vehicles use very small amounts of raw, non-polluting and largely recyclable materials. In fact, energy consumption from LUV production, shipping and distribution is up to 80% lower than standard electric cars, according to the firm.
The body of the Luvly O is made of a single high-tech thermal plastic material that is rust-proof and can be fully recycled.
“We will licence this to anyone who wants to produce parts or vehicles on this platform, which is very low cost so that we can disseminate this type of vehicle as quickly as possible,” he said.
Luvly is now establishing its production in Sweden and developing the processes to get the first few vehicles on the market to select customers.
The first vehicles – which are customisable and so have adaptability advantages – will go to businesses as part of a last-mile delivery solution, but the company also targets personal use and shared schemes.
Luvly O specs
Luvly O is powered by an easy-swap battery system and consumes 6 kWh/100km. It can travel up to 100 km on a single charge, weighs less than 400 kg and has a trunk space of 269 litres.
Unlike current electric vehicles, charging stations are not necessary due to Luvly O’s battery-swapping system. The vehicle is also ready to be used within existing city infrastructure without any major adaptations.
“They are constructed to work in what is already there and drivers do not need to go to a charging station, they can just grab the battery and charge it wherever they are, be it at work, at home or at a coffee place,” said Lutz.
Depending on the model, the battery can be fully charged in one to three hours.
Luvly was founded in 2015 in Stockholm and has a core team of 10+ staff.
