IKEA spend £4.5m on nationwide electrical charging infrastructure
IKEA UK have announced a £4.5 million investment in a nationwide electrical charging infrastructure at their stores around the country.
196 chargers are being installed, 53 of which will be rapid, providing a full charge to IKEA’s new electric vehicles and those owned by their delivery partners in under an hour.
22.03.23 – IKEA Cardiff announcement of EV charging infrastructure
IKEA describe the investment as being fundamental in allowing them to continue expanding the electric vehicle fleets being used to deliver to customers’ homes, with the ambition to reach over 500 by 2025.
With the introduction of a home delivery infrastructure, IKEA is building a complete offer for customers to have IKEA products arrive sustainably to their homes, no matter how they choose to shop.
At Climate Week last year, IKEA became one of the founding members (along with Unilever, JSW Steel Limited, A.P. Moller – Maersk and GeoPost/DPDgroup) of EV100+, an initiative which aims to phase out the heaviest and most polluting vehicles on the road.
Together they have committed to transition their fleet of vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, (medium and heavy-duty vehicles – MHDVs) to zero emission by 2040 in OECD markets, China and India.
Representing just 4% of all vehicles on the road globally, MHDVs account for 40% of all road transport emissions and a third of total transport fuel use. These vehicles produced over 5% of total global CO2 emissions in 2019, predicted to increase to over 11% by 2050 if steps to decarbonise are not taken.
Jakob Bertilsson, Country Customer Fulfilment Manager at IKEA UK & Ireland, said: ‘Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do at IKEA, and we are always looking for ways to reduce our impact on the planet while supporting our customers to live more sustainable lives at home.
‘Investing in this infrastructure of nationwide charging points is a fundamental step in our ambition to reach 100% zero emissions customer deliveries from all IKEA stores and distribution centres by 2025, as well as supporting our ambition to become a climate positive business by 2030.’
Transport Decarbonisation Minister Jesse Norman said: ‘It is great to see IKEA investing heavily in EV chargepoints and decarbonising its vehicle fleet.
‘This investment is the latest example of businesses and government working together to decarbonise all aspects of road transport, improve air quality and create healthier, buzzing communities.’
