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If you have ever bought any furniture from IKEA, then you have most likely experienced the pain and the joy that comes with having to build it yourself. Depending on how large the piece of furniture is, you can be busy for hours trying to figure out each step and ensuring that you don’t have any extra pieces somehow leftover. But can you imagine having to build your own car?

If not, then Ryan Schlotthauer, a college student in design, shows us the possibilities with his concept car called the “Höga.”

The Höga provides the simplicity you would expect in an IKEA car

The Hoga next to a box, showing the car's small size
The Hoga’s size | Ryan Schlotthauer

Considering how simplistic IKEA’s products are, you would expect that a car made by the Swedish company to be just as basic in its design. Fortunately, Schlotthauer emulated IKEA’s design language well in his four-wheeled creation, starting from the ground up.

For starters, the Höga is only 2.3 meters long and 1.8 meters high, which is far smaller than a current Honda Civic. According to The Next Web, the vehicle has a skateboard platform that has four wheels that can move in any direction for a wide range of maneuverability. For the structure, an A-frame is placed on the platform and features roll cage bars for safety.

With those in place, the doors and body panels can be added. In addition to the side doors, there are also front and rear windshields that do double duty as doors. Occupants can enter through the front of the car and put their cargo in the rear.

The interior is customizable

The Hoga's configurable interior
The Hoga’s configurable interior | Ryan Schlotthauer

According to Futuroprossimo, the Hoga’s interior is fully customizable. You can even configure its interior volume to make it make extra room for more luggage or large items like a bike or a stroller.

The Höga is easy to assemble

A picture of all of the pieces to assemble a Hoga
The Hoga’s assembly in pieces | Ryan Schlotthauer

Schlotthauer’s inspiration for the Höga is derived from the classic Bauhaus tradition of clean and simplistic design. It’s no wonder, then, that the Höga is shipped using reusable crates to reduce transport costs and can be assembled by one person in a matter of a few hours.

There are 374 parts in total and 114 individual parts, which might sound like a lot, but it’s not that much more than your average entertainment center. We’re not sure, though, if an Allen wrench and other necessary tools are included, however, Next Web did mention that the Höga requires six batteries of some sort, but we’re not sure which kind.

The Höga can be recycled

a diagram showing that the Hoga can be upcycled.
The Hoga can be upcycled | Ryan Schlothauer

Not only is the Höga all-electric, but it’s also sustainable as it’s made from upcycled and recycled parts. Schlotthauer designed the Höga as an “ultimate kit car” bachelor’s thesis and it is meant to integrate within Renault’s mobility program, Auto Evolution reports.

According to Schlotthauer, the Höga aims to be “clever, low-cost, and sustainable” much like IKEA’s furniture. And while it might only seem like a feasible, all-electric mobile solution on paper, you never what it could actually turn into in the future. Hopefully, someone at Renault takes notice soon enough. Get your Allen wrenches ready!

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