Ikea switches to hybrids in Britain

LONDON, June 11 (UPI) -- Swedish home furnishings retailer Ikea said it is switching its company car fleet in Britain to hybrid vehicles.

The retailer said it would trade in its Skoda cars for Honda Civic hybrids by next year in a pilot program that may be extended to other countries, the Financial Times reported Monday.

The switch is part of a companywide effort to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 9 percent by 2010, Ikea officials said. Honda will furnish 50 Civic hybrids this year and 20 more in 2008.

The changeover will make Ikea Britain's first large private-sector company to move its company passenger-car fleet to more eco-friendly vehicles. The change doesn't affect Ikea delivery vehicles in Britain.

Low-emission cars in Britain pay a lower road tax of about $69 per year and are exempt from paying fees to enter the congestion zone in central London.

"The economics of the change have come out quite well," said Charlie Browne, Ikea's environmental manager in Britain.