Stellantis taps Swedish start-up for quadricycle production tech

Stellantis is on the verge of expanding its quadricycle business beyond the Citroën Ami, Fiat Topolino and Opel Rocks Electric, having partnered with Swedish firm Luvly to evaluate its flat-pack production method.

Luvly’s patented chassis design uses a series of large composite panels joined with extruded aluminium connectors, to which other key components (such as the suspension, motors and body panels) are mounted. 

“Doing that means the panels are super-cheap and we can ship them in pieces,” Luvly boss Håkan Lutz told Autocar in 2023.

Lutz said shipping the car in an Ikea-style package enables massive savings in transportation costs. Around 20 fully assembled examples of its O quadricycle fit in a standard 20ft container. Moreover, one container can be used to ship 250 unassembled bodies.

The O has yet to go on sale but promises a range of up to 62 miles from a swappable 6.4kWh battery pack and a top speed of up to 56mph. It will be priced from €10,000 (£8400), positioning it as a rival for the Mobilize Duo and undercutting French brand Ligier’s Myli EV.

Stellantis will verify Luvly’s claims over the coming year.

“The aim of this partnership is to show that we can deliver on our promises,” Lutz told mobility publication Zag Daily. 

He added: “This is the first major commercial partnership with a player as pivotal as Stellantis. If we manage to prove the level of safety and the economics of our platform and Stellantis chooses to adopt it, that is a major thing – not only for us, but for the industry.”