Ikea Canada expands EV charging network at its stores
Ikea Canada announced today it was adding 25 charging stations at five locations in Ontario and Quebec. These will join a growing network to be found at Ikea stores worldwide. The home furnishing retailer is also working to decarbonise its global delivery fleets.
Staying in Canada for a start, Ikea secured funding of $300,000 from Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP) in 2022. It invested over $305,000 of its own funds to install charging stations at several locations, including Ikea stores in Montreal, Boucherville, Quebec City, and Ottawa, as well as at its Distribution Centre in Beauharnois, Quebec. Taking into account the new installations, Ikea Canada now has EV charging stations at 14 stores across the country. There was no mention of the type of charging stations.
“Through the ZEVIP program, we were able to accelerate our investment in the long-term future of our business, our fulfilment network, and our partnerships with transport service providers which use zero-emission delivery vehicles,” said Crystal Rasa, Head of Fulfilment Sourcing, Ikea Canada.
The investment also supports Ikea’s target to reach 100 per cent zero-emission home deliveries by 2025 and a 50 per cent reduction in co-worker and customer emissions by 2030. The company is active in the Climate Group’s EV100+ pledge to decarbonise its operations worldwide.
In Canada, Ikea has been working with local suppliers to roll out electric vans and trucks at least since 2021, as reported. One of them is Bolt Logistics, which already uses the new charging infrastructure deployed at the Ikea stores. The company says it was able to begin using two EV delivery trucks for last-mile home deliveries in Ottawa. Similarly, Metro Supply Chain installed a mobile EV charging centre at the Ikea Coquitlam store to operate three electric trucks for deliveries in the region.
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