Ingka Investments Buys Into Fluid Truck

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group, owner and operator of 381 IKEA stores in 32 countries announced they have made a minority investment in Fluid Truck, an app-based rental solution, offering short-to-medium term vehicle rentals and outsourced fleet management solutions. Ingka Investments joins a USD 63 million Series A investment round together with other investors.

Ingka Group has set a goal to become climate positive by 2030, and to achieve this CO2 emissions need to be cut in all stages of the value chain, including home deliveries. To support this, all customer deliveries and services will be done using electric vehicles or other zero-emission solutions by 2025. By investing in Fluid Truck, Ingka Investments supports this ambition, helping them to reach their ambition of fleet electrification. 

”We are delighted with this investment in Fluid Truck as this partnership is closely aligned with our zero emission customer delivery ambitions. Fluid Truck has an increasingly electrified delivery fleet across the U.S so this is another step in enabling IKEA Retail to provide last mile delivery services to our customers, continue to improve on our customer promise, while also reducing our environmental footprint. We are impressed with the company’s team, innovative mindset, revenue traction to date and their continued growth,” says Krister Mattsson, Managing Director of Ingka Investments.

The evolving online shopping habits call for scalable and sustainable delivery models. Today, IKEA Retail US is working with Fluid Truck to enable a rental program that facilitates their transport partners to rent electric trucks for last mile deliveries, initially covering New York and Los Angeles. 

“Fluid Truck is redefining mobility for small business owners,” said James Eberhard, founder and CEO of Fluid Truck. “We’re continuing to invest in building a powerful platform and diverse vehicle fleet to enable businesses to easily serve their customers and grow without breaking the bank.” 

The investment is the latest in a series of investments made by Ingka Group that will strengthen its core retail business by investing in innovative companies in areas such as digitalisation, customer fulfillment and sustainability.

About Fluid Truck 
Fluid Truck is a peer-to-peer truck sharing platform that offers 24/7 mobile access to a wide array of vehicles. Hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. use Fluid Truck to flexibly and affordably build their fleet, manage employee scheduling on-the-go, and safely operate with GPS tracking and roadside assistance. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Source : Ingka 

For all the very latest news and intelligence on the UK's largest home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.