IKEA promotes electromobility with over 1,000 new charging points across Germany.
This initiative is creating one of the largest and most powerful charging networks in German retail, as by 2028, the charging infrastructure will be expanded across 54 furniture stores and other locations in collaboration with their partner Mer, a leading charging solutions provider, who will oversee their construction and management.
Walter Kadnar, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of IKEA Germany, states, “At IKEA, we want to improve the daily lives of many people. This includes finding ways to make more sustainable choices as easy as possible.”
He continues, “The charging points we are creating with our partner Mer will be available for delivery vehicles, as well as for our employees, customers, and all electric vehicle drivers.”
These devices operate on 100 per cent green electricity and have the potential to save around 71,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
This is equivalent to emissions from 395,000,000 kilometers traveled by a diesel vehicle: the distance from Munich to Stockholm could be traveled 247,000 times.
The planning for the first six IKEA stores in Bielefeld, Bremen, Chemnitz, Freiburg, Kaarst, and Mannheim has now begun.
The first new charging points are expected to be available in early 2025, accessible almost everywhere 24 hours a day.
“We are very pleased to support IKEA in its ambitious sustainability goals,” says Otto Loserth, CEO of Mer Germany GmbH.
“Our companies have Scandinavian roots: together we want to change the world for the better and make the future more sustainable. Mer’s vision of thinking about electromobility in a holistic, customer-friendly, and sustainable way fits perfectly with IKEA’s goal of becoming a company with a positive climate footprint,” he adds.
The extensive expansion of the charging infrastructure is just one part of IKEA’s commitment to mobility.
The company plans to use locally emission-free delivery vehicles for last-mile cargo transport deliveries by the end of 2025.
They also aim to halve emissions from employee and customer mobility by 2030.
The prerequisite for achieving these goals is the provision of adequate charging infrastructure at the locations.
Some IKEA furniture stores also offer customers other attractive local offers: IKEA Karlsruhe has charging lockers for electric bike batteries.
At IKEA Freiburg, customers can rent an electric vehicle for free to transport furniture home. Six furniture stores offer electric cargo trailer rentals (IKEA Berlin-Spandau, Freiburg, Hamburg-Altona, Karlsruhe, Magdeburg, Osnabrück).
Customers can rent electric cargo bikes at nine furniture stores (IKEA Braunschweig, Dortmund, Hamburg-Altona, Hamburg-Moorfleet, Hanau, Karlsruhe, Magdeburg, Osnabrück, Wuppertal).
