Flatpack cars will be heading to UK from Sweden (where else?)

A SWEDISH technology firm has produced an electric city car that is a fifth of the weight of most electric vehicles and has a battery that can be removed for charging.

However, perhaps its biggest selling point is that it can be delivered, like goods sold by Sweden’s best known exporter, Ikea, in flatpack form.

But Luvly’s customers need not fear they will have to spend many frustrating hours poring over instructions trying to put the vehicles together as they will be delivered to factories around the world for assembly.

Håkan Lutz, the firm’s chief executive and founder, said: “If it were legally and technologically possible to assemble in your house, we would think that would be a good thing, but sadly on both of those counts, it is not.”

“The whole technological platform makes it possible for us to ship the components parts in containers, in a costand space-efficient way.”

The cars are simple and light and can be put together easily and quickly, Mr Lutz added.

He has spoken to companies in Britain about opportunities to market the car. “I think these would suit the UK absolutely perfectly, the bigger the city, the more sense one of these cars makes,” he said.

Despite diminutive size and lack of a powerful engine, its creators claim the Luvly 0 shares a number of similarities with Formula One cars. For example, it has energy absorbers around the chassis, similar to those used on the racing cars, to ensure maximum safety.

One thing it doesn’t have in common with Formula One cars, however, is performance. The Luvly 0 has a top speed of about 55mph and a range of 62 miles.

However, the vehicle gets around a problem that has caused the number of electric vehicles being registered in the UK to decline dramatically – a dearth of public charging facilities.

Each car comes with two removable batteries that do not require dedicated car chargers and can be taken into the office, garage or home and plugged in.

Large numbers of them are unlikely to be darting around Britain’s high streets anytime soon, however, as a mass rollout is a few years off.

Mr Lutz said: “The plan is to get started as soon as possible but, you know, development of new technology always takes a bit more time than you wish for, we are hopeful to have some cars on the roads this year.”