Swedish microcar maker Luvly wants to be the IKEA of tiny electric cars
Luvly, a Swedish microcar company, is gearing up to produce a tiny, ultraefficient electric car for urban living – and distribute it around the world using a flat-pack shipping method, much like another famous Swedish brand.
Luvly derives its name from LUV, or “Light Urban Vehicle,” which really sets the tone for what they’re going after – small cars designed for city use.
Luvly’s first vehicle, the Luvly O, has specs intended to work perfectly for an urban dweller. Which is to say, those specs are not any more than what you need (or more than what European quadricycle regulations limit them to), combined into a cute, affordable, and convenient package.
The whole vehicle weighs just 380kg (837 pounds), about a fifth as much as the standard 4,000-pound passenger car (the Tesla Model 3 weighs around this much), resulting in lower manufacturing emissions. And its light weight means that it’s tremendously more efficient, with energy consumption on the order of 60Wh/km (96Wh/mi), about two to four times better than “full-size” electric cars.
This low energy consumption means the Luvly needs a smaller battery to get around, and the standard battery is just 6.4kWh. But that’s not the best part – the battery is two separate units, each weighing 15kg (33 pounds), 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. This might be harder if you’re carrying other things or live in a walk-up apartment or have reduced strength or mobility, but perhaps another carrying solution could be designed for people who need that.
The small battery means fast charge speeds as well. On a standard European 220-230V outlet, each battery unit should take about an hour to charge. In the US, due to our slower 120V outlets, it’ll take about two hours. No special charger or high-amperage outlets are needed – just a regular outlet. Quick charging times and potential battery swapping capabilities also give the car the potential to be used for urban car-sharing schemes.
But despite (and perhaps because of) its small size, the car is still capable of the feats that matter most for intracity tasks. Its top speed of 90km/h (55mph) is perhaps a bit slow for interstates but suitable for quick highway jaunts within a city and for any surface road. Its trunk holds 267 liters, a bit over nine cubic feet, which won’t help you haul lumber but should be enough for groceries, bags, or maybe even a small Costco run. It would also be ideal for last-mile/intracity delivery.
Tiny cars are often thought of as being less safe, primarily due to oversized vehicles taking over the road, leading to an arms race of vehicle size. But smaller and slower cars are safer for occupants and for those outside the car. Luvly says they will use a sandwich-structure composite safety shell with additional energy-absorbing foam material to keep occupants safe. (Luvly calls it “slow formula racing tech.”)
And down to the bottom line: Luvly plans to sell the Luvly O for around €10,000, or $11,000. That’s cheaper than any car you’ll find and not even much more expensive than high-end cargo bikes. If it ends up qualifying for EV subsidies in the various regions it ends up being sold, that price could become even more absurdly low.
Most of these specs are subject to change, especially with varying homologation rules in different territories. And Luvly does see opportunities in several markets, both around Europe and around the globe.
The IKEA of tiny electric cars
Luvly says its main innovation is in its production and assembly process, which it intends to license and allow for different cars to be built with its same processes. A sporty model, a small cargo van, or a three-wheeler are all potential configurations.
The IKEA comparison is not just about the shared country of origin but rather about Luvly’s planned production and shipping methods. Rather than assembling cars in one central factory and shipping them around the world fully assembled, Luvly has pioneered a process that allows for flat-pack shipping of vehicle parts.
Unlike IKEA, these won’t be assembled by the end user, but flat-pack shipping will allow a single shipping container to hold the parts required for 20 total cars, rather than needing a pure car carrying ship or loading one to four fully-assembled standard-sized cars in a container.
So parts can be produced in a central factory, and these parts are then assembled in micro factories covering individual sales regions. One 2000-square-meter micro factory could service a territory the size of Sweden.
Each micro factory then has a smaller footprint, deployment timeline, and capital expenditures to set up. Licensees of Luvly’s process could set these micro factories up much more easily than if they had to build the entire process themselves. And at end of life, these parts can be recycled as well.
While Luvly has some stiff competition in Europe from established brands, like Citroen and Renault, and smaller companies, like Microlino, it believes that its flat-pack and sandwich composite methods give it a leg up. But it also believes there is plenty of room for this market to grow and that drivers can be convinced to go smaller.
Why smaller is better
Luvly CEO Håkan Lutz, despite being 193cm (6’4) himself, is adamant that cars are too big and need to be smaller. (He says that he and his brother, who is even larger than him, fit in the car together just fine.) He notes that Sweden has the largest cars in Europe. Despite that, Swedes are an environmentally-conscious lot: They live in a spread-out country with few significantly sized cities; they love to bring the whole family out to the Sommarstuga (summer house) for vacation (and tow a 1000kg trailer while doing so – these are ubiquitous in Scandinavia); and many live in small quaint suburbs.
But this gets down to the current predicament with cities, especially in Europe, but really all around the world. Cars are getting bigger, and city centers aren’t. These bigger cars create more pollution, are more noisy, kill more pedestrians, cause more congestion, and take up more parking space. And this is happening when we need to move more people into cities and make them denser, not less dense, in order to make society more efficient in the face of climate change.
Lutz would like to see this trend reversed. He sees the arms race of larger cars as a symptom of humans seeing each other as competitors to distance and protect themselves from. And this attitude will not help us in the fight against climate change or the fight for better cities.
A reversal of the large car trend would lead to myriad societal benefits and could be paired with making cities more human-centric rather than car-centric. With car-centric cities, we surrender so much of our human space to vehicles that only get used for minutes a day. A smaller car is still a car, and it still takes up space and needs roads, but smaller cars fit better into the lives of city-dwellers than the huge land yachts which US and EU automakers are trending toward.
But he acknowledges that the Luvly O is better for intracity travel rather than for living outside a city and driving in. However, for some drivers who live in a nearby suburb/exurb – say, Lund to Malmö, two cities just 20km away – the Luvly could work and would certainly be easier to find parking for. And despite being a low population density country, Sweden still has an urbanization rate of 88% – higher than the US at 83%. So there are plenty of people in each country who could benefit from an urban-focused vehicle.
Lutz thinks that young city dwellers, who are increasingly tired of their cities being overrun by SUVs, are the perfect audience for Luvly. He wants to target cities with high levels of pollution and congestion and with significant numbers of urban commuters. These will largely start in Europe, though Lutz thinks there are young people in every city in the world who could be interested in a vehicle like this.
Yes, even in the US, where the stereotype goes that small cars won’t sell. And here I am, with a 2,800-pound car in the driveway, still wishing it were a bit smaller – so maybe he’s right.
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Mark Kay’s iconic Pink Cadillac awards are driving into the future for 2025. The company’s first-ever electric Pink Cadillac OPTIQ made its debut during the Mary Kay annual Seminar in Charlotte this weekend, symbolizing a “recharged vision” for the future of the popular brand.
Pioneers in monetizing friendships female empowerment and entrepreneurship, the Pink Cadillac is considered one the most coveted symbols of achievement for Mary Kay sales reps, signifying not just great sales (GM Authority reported that it took ~$102,000 in annual sales to qualify back in 2001), but also leadership, a history of mentoring others, and a sustained reputation of excellence among their peers.
The women you see behind the wheel of the Pink Cadillac are the real deal, in other words, and the big Caddy really does mean something to people in the know.
The iconic pink Cadillac was born in 1968 when Mary Kay Ash purchased a Cadillac Coupe De Ville from a Dallas dealership and promptly had it painted to match the pale pink Mary Kay lip and eye palette. General Motors later named the color Mary Kay Pink Pearl, and the shade is exclusive to Mary Kay.
MARY KAY
Now, the Pink Cadillac is going to stand for environmental sustainability, too, enabling Mary Kay’s top performers to set yet another positive example for anyone aspiring to their success.
“For decades, the Mary Kay pink Cadillac has symbolized accomplishment, aspiration, and the power of recognition,” said Ryan Rogers, Chief Executive Officer of Mary Kay. “With the introduction of the all-electric OPTIQ, we’re honoring that iconic legacy while driving into a transformative future—one grounded in our commitment to sustainability and dedication to inspiring and celebrating the achievements of our independent sales force for generations to come.”
Mary Kay announced its new Pink Cadillac with this video, below.
Same Legacy, New Energy
“The legacy continues with the new, all-electric (and still very pink) Cadillac Otiq [sic],” reads the official Mary Kay copy on YouTube. “The Optiq remains instantly recognizable with the pink pearl exterior, while modernizing with sleek, cutting-edge features. In addition, this vehicle showcases our commitment and dedication to sustainability by reducing our carbon footprint while continuing to inspire.”
Speaking of inspiration, I can’t hardly hear the words “Pink Cadillac” without thinking of the song. But, since “Bruce Springsteen” has become something of a trigger word for the MAGA snowflakes in the audience, I’ll post a different, but similarly great song about rose-tinted GM flagships from Dope Lemon. You can let me know what you think of it in the comments.
As ever, the Cadillac is not a “gift,” per se – but typically takes the form of a two year lease paid for by Mary Kay. No word yet on what the exact shape and form the OPTIQ deal will take.
Electrek’s Take
Whatever you might think of MLMs or businesses like Amway, Avon, or Mary Kay, they play a big part in the social dramas of hundreds (if not thousands) of neighborhoods and online communities. The people at the top are influential, and the people “below” them genuinely try to emulate them and follow their lead.
Thanks to Mary Kay, that might soon mean a decision to buy an electric vehicle – and that result would be a win for everyone.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Mary Kay.
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RBW, a British handcrafted electric car manufacturer, brought its cute little Roadster out to Santa Monica and invited us up for a drive.
RBW has built cars in the UK for a few years now, but is about to set up US manufacturing in Virginia. Along with that comes a version of its Roadster modified for the US market, and we got a sneak peek with a short drive in Santa Monica.
The RBW Roadster is a small, hand-built, retro-style EV, meant as a modern take on British classics. But it’s not an actual classic itself – it’s a newly-built vehicle, with a new body, modern safety features, and even some electronics, like CarPlay and Android Auto (but not much else – there’s no huge, cockpit-defining screen, just a 9″ one, with retro gauges in front of the driver. But it does have a backup camera!).
Our drive was short, just a quick trip up and down the most trafficky part of Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, without much chance to really stretch the vehicle’s legs. So we can’t verify range or tell you how it handles on the limits, but we can tell you about the basic controls and feel of the vehicle.
On a mostly smooth road, the car offered a comfortable ride dynamic. We didn’t get a sense of chassis noise because the top was down (which I surmised was an intentional effort by the company – I’ve used the same trick when showing off my car before).
The steering is tight and has a good weight to it, and the retro-style steering wheel felt great in my hands.
Of particular interest to me, as a long-time EV driver, is how the throttle pedal is tuned. Lots of EVs add some intentional delay or smoothing to throttle inputs, which ends up making the pedal feel mushy and indirect, reducing the control you have over the vehicle.
For reference, the cars I drive most often are the Tesla Roadster and Model 3, which both have excellent direct pedal feel.
And I’m happy to report that the RBW Roadster’s throttle pedal feels very similar to the cars I love to drive. The car feels quick, and responds exactly to what I want it to do, when I want it to do it. But it’s not excessively “punchy” like some of the more absurdly-powered EVs can be (like the Tesla Model S Plaid or the Macan Turbo S).
It does not, however, have off-throttle regenerative braking, aka one-pedal driving. Pressing the brake pedal engages regen, but letting off the throttle lets you simply coast. I personally prefer one-pedal driving, but one consideration RBW had is that since the car does not have traction control, regenerative braking on the rear axle (where the motor is) could potentially present a safety issue on slippery roads. So, fair enough I guess, but I still do prefer one pedal.
Speaking of pedals, the brake pedal was placed quite far from the accelerator. This is a plus and a minus – a minus because it’s quite different from most vehicles these days, where the pedals are placed closer, for ease of reaching them with your right foot. A plus because higher separation might reduce the chance of “crossing the pedals” and accidentally pressing both with the same foot in an emergency situation, and because it enables left-foot braking, which is generally better for performance driving… in the hands of a trained driver, anyway.
That said, this isn’t exactly a performance car. It’s fun, it’s responsive, but it’s not powerful. The version we tested had a 0-60 time of only around 9 seconds, so it didn’t give you the “throw your head back” feeling that so many EVs on the road these days do. It’s responsive, but not fast.
RBW says the American version will have more motor power than the UK version, but it’s still trying to figure out exactly how to tune it. This should bring 0-60 times down by about a second. But we can’t help but think that it would be nice with even a little more power than that, which we think should be possible given the car’s 50kWh battery and ~2,900lb weight, specs that are similar to my similarly-sized Tesla Roadster (as you can see below – along with the GT version of the RBW, on the right).
Here’s an issue: all the specs we were given seem extremely fluid. While talking to the company, I got several different numbers for any given specification. It seems to me like the company is still figuring out exactly what changes it will make for its US models.
This is somewhat to be expected of a small, hand-built manufacturer, especially since buyers can ask for certain modifications or personalizations (seat height, for example, which is important in a small car like this). But it does make it tough to write an article about it.
Nevertheless, the car drives well, and RBW seems to have gotten a lot right about the dynamics of the vehicle. It executes well on its goal – a fun, small British-style roadster, a great weekend car for those who have the means.
As for the means, the RBW Roadster will start in the $140-150k range, so it’s not cheap. But if you’re looking for something like this, it’s just about the only game in town, and it’s a good execution of the feel of a nimble roadster for weekend cruising.
RBW is currently taking $1,000 reservations for 2026 builds, and you can have a look at configurations (paint, roof, interior, wheels) over on its website.
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Canadian startup Beachman has just unveiled its latest electric two-wheeler, the ’64, a vintage-styled electric motorcycle that looks like it rolled straight out of the 1960s. With throwback café racer design and a respectable top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h), it’s a slick little ride with a curious twist: it calls itself an e-bike.
It’s not just a casual reference, but it’s baked into the name. The full model name on Beachman’s website is the ’64 E-Bike.
While I’d generally be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt, since many motorcyclists refer to electric motorcycles as “e-bikes” and the term has a broad definition in colloquial usage, the company is obviously casting more in the “electric bicycle” end of the spectrum. They even say on their website that it is “rideable as either a Class II E-Bike or a Registered Moped (in most states).”
Despite lacking pedals entirely – and clearly designed more like a lightweight electric motorcycle – the Beachman ’64 comes with a selectable “E-Bike Mode” that limits it to 20 mph (32 km/h). The implication? That riders can use this obvious motorcycle in bike lanes like a Class 2 e-bike. Legally speaking, that’s a stretch, to put it mildly. In fact, I’m not currently aware of any state where that’s explicitly legal, though it could probably pass in many states due to the current state of enforcement we usually see.
According to Beachman, the ’64 has three ride modes:
- E-Bike Mode: 20 mph (32 km/h) top speed, which the company says is “perfect for bike lanes.”
- Moped Mode: 30 mph (48 km/h) top speed, which does match legal definitions for mopeds in some jurisdictions, even without pedals.
- Off-Road Mode: 45 mph (72 km/h) top speed, no pretense – just a motorcycle.
In practice, I don’t think it’s a stretch of the imagination to assume that most riders will likely keep it in Off-Road Mode, where the bike delivers its full 3,000W performance and offers the most fun. And specced with decently large batteries, it could actually do some modest commuting, even at higher speeds. The ’64 comes with a removable 2.88 kWh battery (or optional 3.6 kWh upgrade), and range is estimated at 55–70 miles, depending on configuration. It charges to 80% in three hours and even features regenerative braking.
The company leans heavily on its “timeless design” messaging, and to their credit, the ’64 nails the aesthetic. It looks great. The frame, tank, and seat all channel classic motorcycle vibes while skipping the modern digital overload – no apps or touchscreens here. Just a clean, simple throttle and some retro charm.
But for all the cool factor, the classification confusion raises eyebrows. Calling a 45 mph, pedal-less motorcycle an “e-bike” in any meaningful legal sense is a misfire. Some states allow low-speed mopeds in bike lanes, but others draw the line at motorized vehicles without pedals. The ’64 might get away with it in limited cases, but most jurisdictions will (rightfully) require it to be registered and insured as a motor vehicle. And it’s unclear if explaining to the officer, “But I had it in 20 mph mode…” will help much on the side of the road.
Still, Beachman is aiming at a particular rider who wants motorcycle style and speed without all the baggage. With a starting price of $4,800, the ’64 could be an appealing step-up for e-bike riders looking to graduate into something faster without committing to a full-sized gas bike.
Just don’t expect to blend in on the bike path.
Electrek’s Take
Look: The bike looks fantastic and probably rides well, but come on, it’s a 230 lb (105 kg) motorcycle.
Let’s stop calling every throttle-only EV an e-bike just because it’s got two wheels, a battery, and a button that neuters it to 20 mph. This has gotten silly. You built a great-looking bike. But it’s a bike in the way a motorcycle rider refers to his “bike.” It’s not a bicycle, and it’s not a bike lane vehicle any more than a Sur Ron is. At least not if you respect your fellow two-wheel riders around you.
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