Three companies have joined forces to present a delivery solution for the last mile and will start a new type of sharing service this week. Hertz 24/7 CarSharing, the furniture chain IKEA and vehicle manufacturer SAIC Motors are working together to ensure that customers of the furniture stores will also be able to transport their purchases home emission-free in the future. The first all-electric Maxus EV80 vans with car sharing technology are now available at IKEA stores in Frankfurt am Main and Kamen in Germany. The range of emission-free commercial vehicles for furniture transport is to be continuously expanded at further locations; Wallau will be added as the third location in mid-September.

The Maxus EV80 from SAIC is powered by a 60 kW electric motor. Its 56 kWh battery provides a range of up to 200 km. In view of the high availability of IKEA stores throughout Germany, this can be regarded as quite realistic for their customer group. The electric transporter has a long wheelbase of 3,850 mm and offers customers a payload of up to 950 kg.

Sabine Wagner, Business Partner Hertz 24/7 in Germany: “We are very pleased to be able to expand our car sharing fleet at IKEA locations with additional electricity. After initial experience with an electric transporter in Kaarst, we are taking the next step with our new vehicle partner SAIC Motors to give customers the opportunity to bring their purchases home emission-free at other locations in the future”.

Hertz expands its sharing offer with an electric transporter

“This is a great start to a journey to the transport of tomorrow,” says Anders Poulsen, head of the furniture store. “With the new electric transporters, our customers have the opportunity to bring their purchases home silently and emission-free. This is a convincing concept to rid our inner cities of fine dust and noise.” If this test is successful, IKEA will consider implementing the concept at other possible locations.

Pieter Gabriëls, Managing Director of SAIC Mobility Europe, says: “We are very proud that IKEA Germany recognises the potential of our large, all-electric vans for Hertz 24/7’s car sharing offer in IKEA’s stores and look forward to a long-term business relationship with both new partners”.

Since 2014 Hertz has been operating 24/7 CarSharing at over 45 IKEA car sharing stations, where customers can book vans spontaneously up to 15 minutes before the start of the journey or several months in advance. Bookings can be made online or via app for iOS or Android devices, billing is done via credit card or PayPal.

Image Rights: Hertz Press Release

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