IKEA delivers with EV tuk tuks

Swedish homewares retailer IKEA has begun a three-month trial of two electric vehicles (EV) for metro city deliveries in Sydney.

The compact and somewhat comical-looking electric tuk tuks are an Australian first and part of IKEA’s goal to deliver goods to all customers with zero emissions by 2025.

The three-wheel vehicles are powered by a 9kWh swappable battery and can hold up to 500kg worth of goods.

They will only be able to deliver smaller products from the retailer’s extensive range of goods and only within a 10km radius of Sydney’s Tempe store.

IKEA says suburbs in the trial “stretch from Sydney airport to the beaches of the eastern suburbs including Bondi and Vaucluse, to Ashfield in the inner west and Mortdale in the south west” and is an opportunity to reduce both air pollution and the number of fuel-hungry trucks on the road.

“We know that the congested roads of metro Sydney will benefit enormously from the introduction of electric tuk tuks in our delivery fleet, and we also hope it will inspire and drive positive change for the whole industry to meet the needs of people today without compromising the planet and needs of future generations,” said IKEA Tempe manager, Tiffany Mosura-Lesnock.

The transport solution is being delivered in conjunction with IKEA’s delivery partner, ANC Delivers, which says it proud to be onboard as an early adopter of greener solutions.

^{The comical-looking tuk tuks. Photo: supplied}

“With more people living in medium or high-density housing and 8.1 per cent of households in capital cities not owning a vehicle, we face new delivery, emissions, and urban mobility challenges in an environment where consumers are looking for more sustainable options,” said group executive, strategy and marketing, Mo Abbas.

IKEA has been trialling a number of different zero-emissions delivery methods around the world, including solar bikes in London, electric rickshaws in India, and barges on the Seine river in Paris.