IKEA Is Installing Ultra-Fast EV Chargers To Power Your Car While You Shop
Image via Electrify America
IKEA, your source for affordable furniture and meatballs, is about to feed electric cars too. Starting this year, the home furnishing giant will install over 200 ultra-fast public EV chargers supplied by Electrify America at stores across 18 US states, in hopes to convince shoppers to switch to electric should they need to drive.
The tie-in between IKEA and Electrify America will also bring in charging stations for IKEA’s electric delivery trucks, keeping the brand on track to cutting out emissions for last-mile deliveries by 2025.
Previously, the Swedish company encouraged customers to travel to its stores by foot to keep emissions down. Obviously, this option isn’t for everyone, considering that its locations are typically tucked away in less-accessible areas.
By ramping up the availability of electric chargers, the company is offering another solution to reach its stores that doesn’t hurt the environment. It also addresses the fear that EVs may lose steam before drivers get to a charging station.
Ultra-fast charging means cars will be juiced-up by the time customers are done with their shopping. Electrify America says the stations will have the “fastest charging speeds available today—150kW to 350kW.”
According to Fast Company, IKEA US is also looking at opening more locations in reachable urban areas so that shoppers won’t have to drive all the way out. For them to fit into smaller city confines, it is also considering building smaller stores that don’t carry stock.
The 200 ultra-fast chargers will reach 25 IKEA stores in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington as early as late this year.
[via Fast Company and National Interest, cover image via Electrify America]
