Ikea to deliver ‘game changer’ Tuk Tuk in Australia in 2023

An Australian first will change the way customers get hold of goods from the furniture giant. See the video and how it will work.

Ikea will use Australia's first electric Tuk Tuk for 'last mile' deliveries.

It’s the Tuk Tuk that won’t take your breath away.

Hitting Australian roads in early 2023 as a “last mile” delivery vehicle for Ikea, Australia’s first electric Tuk Tuk delivery vehicle will drop off parcels without polluting the air in heavily-populated areas.

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the India-sourced three-wheeler will be a natural fit for inner-city deliveries.

EV Council chief executive Behyad Jafari with Australia's first electric Tuk Tuk.

“It’s going to be a game-changing emissions-free light delivery vehicle in areas where larger vehicles are more trouble than they need to be,” Mr Jafari said.

“We’re going to see more like it.”

Ikea Australia chief executive Mirja Viinanen said the Tuk Tuk was a natural fit for the company, as “customers have increasing expectations for the retail sector to reduce the environmental impact of its delivery services”.

Ikea will use the electric Tuk Tuk for 'last mile' deliveries.

Appropriately, the vehicle comes in flatpack form with plenty of assembly required.

The demo vehicle’s batteries were not included, preventing potential customers from taking a test drive.

@davemotoring

Electric Tuk Tuks are coming to Australia! Here’s what you can expect from them. #electric#green#sustainability#tuktuk#delivery#ikea#uber#climatechange#airquality#environment#australia

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It has a maximum payload of 625 kilograms including the delivery rider. Limited to a top speed of 50km/h, it has an effective range of 100 kilometres.

The Tuk Tuk’s 9kWh battery takes 4.5 hours to charge from zero to 100 per cent and weighs 18 kilos. If required, customers can swap batteries in a couple of minutes midway through a shift to get through the working day.

ANC chief executive Joe Sofra with the electric Tuk Tuk.

While it lacks delivery van safety features such as airbags and crumple zones, the Tuk Tuk’s seatbelt, windscreen and third-wheel stability offer advantages over conventional scooters.

Prices for the machine have not been finalised, but it is expected to cost less than $20,000 with a spare battery, or less than half the cost of Australia’s cheapest electric cars.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the Tuk Tuk was “pretty nice”, but declined to take a closer look, preferring to size up larger battery-powered trucks at an industry presentation on Thursday.

Minister for climate change Chris Bowen with lectric truck driver Calvin D'Silva.

“Electric vehicles have a very important role to play in our transport system going forward,” Mr Bowen said.

“You think you know what an EV looks like? You don’t, because these are EVs.

“This is the future.”

Australia’s first electric ute launches this month in the form of the LDV eT60, and Ford is preparing to introduce electric transit vans in 2024.

Joe Di Santo, sales director of Melbourne-based SEA Electric, a company that converts combustion-powered Hino trucks to battery power, said “demand is huge” for commercial electric vehicles.

Australia's first electric Tuk Tuk.

SEA Electric has built a battery-powered prototype version of the Toyota HiLux ute, and is negotiating with the Japanese giant to find a cost-effective way of putting it into production.

“It’s Australia’s biggest-selling vehicle,” Di Santo said.

“There are a lot of customers that would like to swap over their diesel fleet to electric.

“We really need to make a strong collaboration [with Toyota] from a supply and technical information point of view, and that’s the area we’re working on.”

Originally published as Ikea to deliver ‘game changer’ Tuk Tuk in Australia in 2023