IKEA Deploys First Heavy-Duty E-Truck in India

Bengaluru- Inter IKEA Systems B.V., has deployed its first heavy-duty electric truck in India, marking a key milestone in its journey toward cleaner and more efficient logistics. Despite the higher upfront cost of electric trucks compared to conventional diesel vehicles, the company is already seeing improved efficiency and long-term cost savings on this route.

Mr. Claes Lindgren, Acting Category Transport Manager, IKEA Supply Chain Operations, this initiative sends “a strong signal to the transport sector in India.” Together with its transport partner BLR Logistiks and other stakeholders, IKEA has rethought and optimised the route so that the truck spends more time moving and less time idling during loading and unloading.

The results from this deployment have been significant:

• Turnaround time has been cut from 2 days to 1
• Annual transport costs have fallen by 16%
• Greenhouse gas emissions on this route have dropped by 30%, equal to about 206 tons of CO₂ per year
• Empty running has been reduced by roughly 160,000 km annually

Because heavy-duty EV trucks typically cost more to purchase and require substantial investment in charging infrastructure, making them viable demands careful route planning and operational redesign. In this case, a previously 120 km, three-stop route was handled by two diesel trucks: one running between the port and the distribution centre (DC), and another running from the DC to the IKEA store in Mumbai. Now, a single electric truck covers the full route.

To enable this, IKEA has worked with Indian customs to speed up container handling and has established new agreement structures between the ocean freight provider moving containers to the port and the land carrier operating the route. BLR Logistiks has invested in the necessary charging infrastructure to support the truck’s operation.

“We are happy with what we have achieved for this specific route and look forward to applying this way of working in the future,” says Abhishek Goyal, Director at BLR Logistiks. “This deployment in India represents an example of how we create efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Transport-related CO₂ emissions account for around 5% of the total IKEA value chain carbon footprint. IKEA has set a target to reduce the climate footprint from every transport by an average of 70% by 2030 and to use only zero-emission heavy-duty trucks by 2040. This project is an important step toward those goals.

Inter IKEA Group is the global IKEA franchisor, consisting of Inter IKEA Systems B.V., IKEA of Sweden AB, IKEA Supply AG and IKEA Industry AB. Inter IKEA Holding B.V. is the parent company of the group. Within this structure, IKEA Supply AG is responsible for sourcing, producing and supplying the IKEA range—from raw materials to finished products for customers. By working closely with its supply partners, IKEA Supply AG manages an integrated, efficient and low-cost supply chain that supports a better everyday life for customers and the many people connected to the IKEA supply chain.

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