Swedish startup Luvly makes small electric cars

It weighs less than 450 kilograms (992 pounds) – less than a quarter of the weight Weight of an average modern car The Lovely has a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) and a top speed of 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour, which Lutz says is more than enough for most daily urban commutes.

These cars are unlikely to be your next DIY project, though, says Lutz: To be road legal, they must be assembled by a licensed automaker before being delivered to customers.

Although self-assembly is not required, IKEA has had a big impact. says Lutz Lovely It is trying to do for cars what IKEA did for furniture, “good enough quality and very nice design, cheaply and efficiently for everyone.”

The Luvly O is a “light urban vehicle”, also known as a minivan.

Small cars have been roaming the city streets since the 1950s. Iconography BMW Isetta – which weighed just 350 kilograms (770 lb) – popularized the “bubble car” model that went on to inspire the design of modern light vehicles.

But although small cars look cute, they have a reputation for being unsafe. Its low ride height, light tires, and limited front crumple zones mean that in accidents, especially with other cars, Drivers can sustain more serious injuries than in passenger cars. What’s more, they are not subject to… Same safety standards Like regular passenger cars, there is no need for crash tests.

“For light-duty vehicles to compete with cars, and hopefully outperform rival cars, they have to be safe,” Lutz says. “People won’t accept that you go from driving an SUV to driving what is essentially a motorcycle with a chassis.”

To address this problem, Lovely took inspiration from Formula 1 cars, which were built with a light but strong body. The Luvly O frame has a “sandwich structure” with an aluminum layer lined on both sides with lightweight plastic foam. Lutz says that in the event of a car crash, the force will be absorbed by the padding and protect the driver.

Although crash testing is not mandatory, Lutz says the company performs computer simulations. “Using computers isn’t cheap, but it’s a lot cheaper than smashing (real) things,” he says.

The Luvly O is powered by two 16kg rechargeable batteries, which can be swapped out for another set so the car is always running.

Luvly is still testing the Luvly O prototype, but hopes to launch the car next year at a price of around 10,000 euros ($10,500), Lutz says.

However, a small car is not Luvly’s ultimate goal.

Luvly plans to license its patented light vehicle flat beam frame to other vehicle manufacturers to build their own branded versions.

“We don’t envision that we will be major producers of vehicles, but we expect to be small producers of vehicles, to support and develop the technology,” says Lutz. “While we want to license this to others, we also want to stay on top of the game and be the best on our platform.”

Although consumers increasingly prefer larger car models, Lovely It’s not alone in updating the small car.

In 2020, French automaker Citroën unveiled the Ami, a A small electric car weighing 483 kilograms (1,064 pounds). Which has been replicated by the German brand Opel and the Italian carmaker Fiat. Last year, the Swiss urban car manufacturer launched the Micro Microlino, a “bubble car” that mimics the little Isetta of the 1950s. Like the Luvly, the Microlino uses a sports car-inspired chassis to improve safety.

Small cars are easier to maneuver and require smaller parking spaces, says Masha Prost, a light vehicle expert at the German Aerospace Center.

With the estimated at 68% Prost adds that among the global population expected to live in cities by 2050, urban space is at a premium – so small cars could free up space for pedestrian use and green spaces, which would also reduce the amount of heat trapped in urban areas.

almost 11% of total energy-related greenhouse gas emissions Come from passenger cars on the roads, while last year witnessed Record breaking Electric vehicle sales, which helps reduce vehicle tailpipe emissions, unless the energy and raw materials used in vehicle production are reduced, Research indicates The overall benefits of electric vehicles are limited.

Lightweight and require less energy to manufacture than electric passenger cars and light electric vehicles (LEVs) such as minivans This could make a serious dent in transportation carbon emissions, says Prost.

“A fairly large small car only produces a third of the emissions of production, compared to an electric passenger car,” says Prost.

in Study 2022 Prost has researched the use of cars and low-energy vehicles in Germany, and discovered that up to half of all miles can be driven by light vehicles, including e-bikes, scooters and small cars. This would reduce transportation emissions by 44%.

Light vehicles can also improve pedestrian safety, Prost says.

Over the past decade, the number of pedestrians killed on American roads has steadily risen, according to a recent report. Stady By the research organization Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In 2021, the number of pedestrians killed in traffic accidents in the United States reached High 40 years. This increase is due in part to the growing popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

“An SUV may be very safe for the person sitting in the car, but perhaps not for other road users,” says Prost.

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But despite the huge opportunity to replace cars with low-energy electric vehicles in our cities, regulatory and logistical issues are holding it back, says Prost.

Sharing roads with larger, faster vehicles isn’t always safe for light vehicles, so creating “safe operating conditions” for LEVs, such as lower speed limits or restricted zones, is essential, Prost says.

Proust points to the city of Peachtree in Georgia, United States, as an example. Here, the 100-mile second road network provides safe driving conditions for the city’s 10,000-strong golf cart fleet and is pedestrian-friendly. She adds that while this may not be possible in every city, it demonstrates the possibilities for light vehicles.

But to attract consumers, more diversity in low-power electric vehicle models is essential, says Prost.

This is where Luvly hopes to add value: inspiring more automakers to develop light urban vehicles with its patented framework.

“The service that cars provide, it’s a good thing, it’s beautiful, it’s personal freedom. It’s not a perfect fit for what we do,” says Lutz. “Luvly offers the same service with a fraction of the resources. “This is good, and this is what we have to do.”