Ikea U.S. announced March 30 that it’s on track to have a fully operational fleet of 40 electric last-mile delivery trucks to service all five boroughs of the New York City market by May 2021. The fleet is currently operating at roughly 35% capacity and trucks are being delivered on an accelerated production schedule to meet the May goal.

Ikea is prioritizing its New York and Los Angeles markets as it works toward the goal of having 100% zero emission home deliveries by 2025.

In the Los Angeles market, the company's focus now is on creating the distribution and charging infrastructure at Ikea stores. Trucks will be delivered first to Burbank in May 2021 and then to Covina and Costa Mesa, with the ultimate goal of having 50 trucks service the primary market area.

“We’re excited to see such great progress being made in our New York and Los Angeles markets, as we will have 45 electric vehicles on the road by the end of May," said Jennifer Keesson, country sustainability manager for Ikea U.S. "We are committed to our EV journey as we strive towards the goal of having all last-mile deliveries with zero emissions by 2025.”

In order to make the ambitious goal of zero-emission home deliveries a reality, Ikea U.S. has partnered with Fluid Truck, an online vehicle rental platform. Fluid Truck is a leader in the EV truck sharing space and enables IKEA and its transport partners to rent vehicles on a flexible schedule. In New York, the fleet is currently comprised of Lightning eMotors Electric Class 4 commercial box trucks and Workhorse C1000 trucks, and drivers have greater accessibility to vehicles based on demand.

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ikea parent company Ingka Group, recently invested in Fluid Truck and became a minority stakeholder of the company as of March 2021. Ingka Investments invests in minority and majority shareholding in various companies in order to support the Ikea retail business.