As e-commerce and home delivery gains traction, it puts pressure on the environment with more vehicles on the roads. Swedish furniture maker Ikea is increasingly using electric vehicles for its deliveries across India and is committed to achieving 100 per cent EVs for logistics by 2025.

Currently, it is at 88-90 per cent and closing the gap, Saiba Suri, Country Customer Fulfilment Manager, IKEA India, told businessline. “The momentum is picking up, though it was a slow start. As we expand into new geographies and markets, we aim to begin with the ambition of 100 per cent EVs from day one, setting clear expectations for our service partners and ourselves,” she said.

Ikea has four outlets across India and has significant volumes of shipments across 62 markets.

Excerpts from a chat with Suri on Ikea’s sustainability initiatives in India.

Q

Could you give a brief overview of Ikea’s sustainability goals and achievements in India?

Sustainability is a core part of our business, ingrained in every function. In 2017, we took a significant step by joining the Climate Group’s Global EV100 initiative, which marked the beginning of our EV journey, aiming to be 100 per cent EV by 2025. Globally, we took a stand, understanding the infrastructure and ecosystem challenges, yet we set an aggressive goal, which has been implemented across countries. In 2018, our journey in India began, and we committed to achieving 100 per cent EVs by 2025.

Q

How much of that has been achieved and how does India compare globally?

We are at about 88 to 90 per cent and closing the gap. We’re number one globally, with India recently surpassing China. Globally, we stand at about 37 per cent EV share.

The momentum is picking up, though it was a slow start. As we expand into new geographies and markets, we aim to begin with the ambition of 100 per cent EVs from day one, setting clear expectations for our service partners and ourselves. In cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Pune, we are already at 100 per cent.

Q

Who have you tied up with for the provision of EVs?

We work closely with several OEMs, aggregators, and our last-mile service partners. It’s not just about using EVs; our partners must understand and buy into our ethos of sustainability. We realized we couldn’t be bystanders, expecting the ecosystem to adapt around us. We got deeply involved by establishing a team of ZED (Zero Emission Delivery) experts who have worked directly with manufacturers, testing, and vetting vehicles, examining charging infrastructure, technologies, and ergonomics. Only after thorough research do we onboard specific OEMs and aggregators.

In the three-wheeler segment, we work with Altigreen. For four-wheelers, including trucks, we partner with Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, EKA Mobility, and a few aggregators as well. We also started our journey with Green Drive in Hyderabad. As we expand to more geographies, particularly in the North, we’re looking at other OEMs to partner with.

Q

What are the challenges you see in last-mile connectivity?

Our challenges are not only related to infrastructure but also finding the right last-mile partners who share our values and ambitions. The ecosystem, particularly charging facilities, has been a challenge, though the government is working on this. We’ve also taken steps to support charging infrastructure at our stores, like in Navi Mumbai, ensuring our trucks can charge at our facilities before making deliveries. This is a prerequisite for us. We have to be at the forefront of planning, especially as we expand into cities like Delhi. Setting up charging points is neither easy nor cheap, so partnership is crucial. Initially, this was difficult, but with substantial effort and learning, we’re now able to move faster.

We are deeply involved in evaluating OEMs, looking at vehicles and technologies. Our partners invest in vehicles for us, and we establish long-term partnerships with like-minded people, connecting OEMs, aggregators, and our last-mile partners.

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