Did you know IKEA Hyderabad store will be using electric rickshaws for home delivery?

IKEA, the Swedish multinational company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories, opened its first store in India on Thursday (August 9). Situated in Hyderabad, the IKEA store offers 7,500 products including 1,000 products priced below Rs 200.

IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, will soon start home delivery of its products and the Hyderabad store will use electric three-wheelers in line with the brand's sustainability vision for its stores across the globe. At least 20 percent of the Ikea store's delivery fleet will be electric rickshaws in the initial phase, reports electrek.

The e-Autos will be charged at the store using 4,000 solar panels installed on the building's roof, the report adds.

IKEA store also has plans to scale up electric delivery vehicle fleet to 100 percent by 2023, reports CNBC TV18. The e-Autos for IKEA has been designed by a Hyderabad startup, Gayam Motor Works (GMW). The company has chosen GMW after successful pilot runs through IKEA's logistics partner GATI that uses e-rickshaws. GMW's e-vehicles offers quick battery swapping option and seems to be one of the reasons why IKEA opted for the Hyderabad startup.

In addition, IKEA is also working on solar-powered charging in store compound for customers to charge their e-vehicle during the shopping hours. IKEA co-workers in Hyderabad could also soon be offered an Electric bus option for the daily commute.

IKEA in India

The first India store of IKEA has been opened with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, five years after it received government approval in 2013. The company will invest Rs 10,500 crore to open 25 stores in India by 2025. IKEA's next store will open in Navi Mumbai in next summer, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi. In the next phase, IKEA would cover Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata.