Self-driving vehicles are now part of daily operations for the Swedish furniture giant in China, INGKA reports.
IKEA has introduced autonomous electric vehicles at its store in Hefei, Anhui Province, after a pilot project cut customer waiting times dramatically.
The vehicles transport orders from an external warehouse to the store for self-pick-up and handle restocking. During the trial, average waiting times fell from six hours to two, while transport costs between IKEA units were reduced by more than 50 percent.
Following the results, Ingka Group, the largest IKEA franchisee, has made the solution permanent in Hefei and is now assessing whether similar systems could be rolled out in other markets.
In China, IKEA is also testing autonomous deliveries directly to customers.
