Renault, IKEA France team up to help you get that too-big bookcase home

It happens to the best of us. There you and your partner are at IKEA, loading up on houseplants, paper napkins and those little raspberry jelly sandwich cookies, but then you see that the big Billy bookcase you've been eyeing is on sale for, like, half its normal price. You'd be stupid to pass up a value like that. Only problem is, your sweet little sports coupe is too small to bring said shelving unit home. Sad trombone.

Thankfully, IKEA France and Renault Mobility Services have a solution -- one we hope catches on around the globe. Together, the companies will offer self-serve vehicle rentals at 180 French IKEA locations so you can successfully schlep your goods back to your pied-à-terre, where you both can argue about its assembly over a few Gauloises and some Candy'Up chocolate milk.

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"With this new partnership, we are looking to provide consumers with a service that enhances our accessibility and complements our existing offer," said Vicente Cubells, director of customer relations at IKEA France. "Fast, easy to use and at an attractive price, this new rental service allows users to adopt a simple mode of transport with, eventually, a fleet comprising 100 percent electric vehicles. This demonstrates our commitment to a more sustainable way of life."

The rental program will be administered through the Renault Mobility app and should cost users around 7 euro per hour, including value added tax (VAT) and insurance. Initially, the fleets will be a mixture of internal combustion vehicles and EVs, with the end goal being to transition to fully electric rentals as IKEA's charging infrastructure grows. Among the vehicles available for rent will be Renault's Trafic, Kangoo, and Kangoo Z.E. vans, as well as the Zoe electric hatchback.

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"This partnership with IKEA France underlines the relevance of Renault Mobility's car-sharing offer and is part of our Renault Mobility development strategy in France. This mobility solution, accessible to all, is based on a 100 percent digital customer journey and the Renault network to guarantee our customers a high-quality service," explains Philippe Buros, sales director of Renault France.

This seems like a supersmart idea, and hopefully an automaker with a big US presence will do something similar. After all, I have some shopping to do and, well, my motorcycle isn't going to cut it.