Has Sweden Just Created A Flat-Packed Car?

When the phrase “flat-packed” comes up, where does your mind go? If you’ve ever needed affordable furniture you can build yourself at home, there’s a good chance things like Sweden and Ikea might start floating around. After all, the store has spread across the world and given millions of people everything they need to bring their homes to life - all in a few boxes and just a handful of steps.

It seems Ikea might have started something that it never expected to take off like it has. After all, now plenty of other industries are looking to recreate the magic the company has brought to life for so many years. Has Sweden just created a flat-packed car? It’s certainly what the nation hopes.

Ikea proved to be a big inspiration for the flat-packed car

Ikea is known around the world for being affordable and offering flat-packed furniture we can load into a truck and take home when we need it. What about taking that into the world of tech? That’s what the startup company Luvly is hoping to do, as the Stockholm-based company has unveiled its plans for a flat-packed car called the Luvly O. The vehicle is expected to weigh just 992 pounds when it’s complete and be fully electric, with enough room for two people. While the top speed might be limited to 55 mph, and it will have a range of just 62 miles, range isn’t the point. Instead, it’s about creating something affordable. Still, there is a big difference when it comes to the Luvly O - you won’t be building it at home. While it can be shipped on the back of a truck, it has to be put together by an actual car plant, which makes sense when you think about the regulations and safety standards a car has to meet before it’s safe for the road.

Only time will tell if Luvly O can pull off its plan

The Luvly O won’t have a couple arguing over an instruction manual just yet, but CEO Håkan Lutz is hoping this is just the start of something incredible. Lutz told CNN that he wants his flat-packed car to do for the automobile industry what Ikea did for furniture. One of the Luvly O’s biggest selling points is the fact it wants to be affordable, with plans to make it cost somewhere around $10,500 when it goes on the market in 2024. The frame is made from plastic foam and padded aluminum to absorb forces in accidents, while the battery is swappable, meaning you shouldn’t have to buy a new vehicle every time something wears out. Of course, only time will tell if the Luvly O can pull off everything it has planned as the first flat-packed car.

Has Sweden just created a flat-packed car? It just might have, but there’s still a little way to go before it goes from a prototype to something on the market. Still, if all goes to plan, it might not be long before the automobile world gets the true Ikea treatment once and for all.