As part of its initiative to go green, IKEA Malaysia has deployed its first electric vehicle (EV) to deliver goods to customers’ homes. The 100% electric van joins its existing fleet to service the Petaling District for IKEA Damansara starting this month. In addition, IKEA also wants to encourage the adoption of EVs with plans to install EV chargers at its premises.
According to IKEA, the move is in line with global IKEA commitment to reduce emissions in all stages of its value chain including last-mile deliveries. As demand for online shopping and speedy deliveries continue to grow, and with road transport being one of the biggest contributors to transportation emissions in Malaysia, IKEA Malaysia said it aims to expand its EV fleet next year and transition to more sustainable transport solutions.
IKEA Malaysia’s Country Retail Director Malcolm Pruys said, “At IKEA Malaysia, we want to make our home furnishing solutions accessible to more Malaysians, in more sustainable ways. So, we are excited to introduce our first EV for last-mile deliveries and take the first step in meeting our ambition of making 100% of our home deliveries in EVs or other sustainable transport solutions by 2030. Our aim globally is to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than the IKEA value chain emits while growing the IKEA business. Decarbonising how we transport products to customers will contribute to meeting our global climate positive commitments.”
“At IKEA, we continue to search for more sustainable ways of working. But we can’t reach our goals alone. Hence, we are excited to be working with like-minded partners in this journey and together contribute to Malaysia’s efforts to transition into a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy,” he added.
Besides making its fleet green with zero-emission vehicles, IKEA also wants to encourage its customers to transition to EVs in line with its ambition to enable as many people as possible to live sustainably. IKEA Malaysia said it aims to offer charging points at every IKEA store by 2025.
From the looks of it, IKEA Malaysia is using DFSK EC35 electric vans for its last-mile delivery similar to DHL Express in Malaysia.DHL Express aims to have 61 EVs in its fleet by the end of this year.
Priced from about RM130,000, the EC35 has a rated payload of 1,090kg and a maximum mileage of 268km on a single charge. It has a single motor pushing 60kW (80.5hp) and 200Nm of torque. This electric van has a 38.6kWh battery which supports both 6.6kW AC and 40kW DC charging. When plugged into a 40kW DC charger, it can do 20-80% charge in about 35 minutes.
