The new electrified commercial vehicles group backed by the Hinduja Group, Switch Mobility, announced its formal launch by combining the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the former Optare company. This move is aimed to help it secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles.
A new leadership team has been appointed to leverage the legacy manufacturing and innovation capabilities of Ashok Leyland and Optare.
Dr Andy Palmer has been appointed as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1st July 2021. A team of experts will support Palmer to deliver the company’s ambitions to be a leader in urban e-mobility. This includes the appointment of Nitin Seth as Chief Operating Officer, Sarwant Singh Saini as Chief Planning Officer and Roger Blakey as Chief Technical Officer. The team will be responsible for applying cutting-edge technologies to provide customers with industry-leading low-cost ownership and net-zero emissions transport solutions globally.
The company will announce further Leadership appointments shortly.
With the combined expertise of its teams in UK and India, Switch Mobility will build on its experience of having more than 280 electric vehicles in service with over 26 million miles covered. In addition, the company’s potential has been enhanced through technological collaboration with partners, including Siemens, to deliver e-mobility solutions that already offer the lowest Total Cost of Ownership for CV customers in India. The company has already signed customer agreements with leading logistic operators and secured orders for a 2000-strong e-LCV fleet, with customer trials starting this month as part of its ramp-up.
Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Switch Mobility, said the group is focused on providing the needed thrust to its ongoing initiatives in the rapidly growing zero-carbon mobility sector. It is orchestrated through combining the advanced engineering and development skills in the UK and India to address the demand in the global markets. “I am confident that with Andy Palmer at the helm, we will accelerate our vision to be at the forefront in this field soon,” Hinduja added.
Palmer said Switch holds a unique position in an increasingly competitive marketplace with its e-commercial vehicles already clocking millions of miles in service. “We embrace the ethos of a start-up and enjoy the legacies of intellectual property, borne from more than a decade of technical expertise and engineering experience, that is already revenue-generating and delivering for our customers. I’m delighted to have become part of the Executive Leadership team and believe we have all the required ingredients to become a leading global e-bus and e-truck player, trail-blazing the way to zero-carbon public transport,' he added.