One of the good things about the IKEA store near Phoenix, Arizona, is that it’s the kind of store you can end up spending a lot of time in. Now, normally, that’s not a great thing for one’s schedule or one’s wallet, but they help EV drivers make up for this a bit by having some EV charging stations in the parking lot. Unless you’re a complete furniture junkie, you’ll never get a full charge on Level 2 parking lot charging, but you’ll probably add 50 or more miles of range while you’re in there.
It turns out that this wasn’t just some accident or one-off that the IKEA has charging in the lot. The local manager or some company running the parking lot didn’t make the call here, and that’s obvious because most other IKEAs I could find on Plugshare had one, too. It turns out that this happened as part of a plan to provide at least one station in every parking lot the company runs, or as they put it, “provide charging wherever the company offers parking.” But the company isn’t stopping there.
So, it should come as no surprise that the company recently announced plans to put 1,000 charging stations in the lots of its Sweden stores (in the company’s home country).
The addition of these quick EV chargers to the existing network is the fruit of a collaboration between Recharge and the automaker, and they represent a significant expansion in terms of both quantity (over 300) and speed (able to fully charge an electrical car in 15-45 minutes). They will be accessible for consumers, co-workers, and IKEA delivery vehicles.
“We are on a journey to make it more convenient and accessible for the many people to travel with zero-emissions and we have the ambition by 2030 to reduce relative emissions from customers and co-worker travel and home deliveries by 50%,” said Karol Gobczyński, Climate and Energy Leader, Ingka Group (IKEA’s parent company). “In 2021 we reached our goal to provide access to EV charging stations in all stores where parking is provided, ensuring a convenient experience for customers who have made the switch to electric vehicles. This new increase in charging infrastructure will support further our customers, as part of our customer experience journey.”
The land for the new EV charging stations is provided by IKEA, while Recharge, the charging operator, owns and maintains the new EV chargers.
More than 300 new EV chargers are being installed at IKEA Norway, and IKEA Sweden is adding 700 more, allowing customers to travel from Malmö in the south to Haparanda in the north with an electric vehicle, by charging only at IKEA. All these new EV chargers will be installed by the end of 2024.
“Scandinavian countries are among those with largest increase in EV use, so we are delighted IKEA retail colleagues in Norway and Sweden are making these significant steps to increase accessibility and convenience to charge their electric cars. Shaping a new normal that´s better for all of us and our planet,” concludes Karol Gobczyński.
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