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Ashok Leyland began its electrification journey in the cargo segment as its electric vehicle arm Switch Mobility unveiled two new electric small trucks, positioned in the pick-up segment, a fast-growing category in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) space.
Coinciding with the Hinduja flagship’s 75th anniversary celebrations, two electric small trucks IeV3 and IeV4 were launched here. The trucks will offer a range of up to 300-km operation in a day (with opportunity charging). It will provide three charging options.
The new trucks, which will sport car-like features, have a payload capacity of 1.2 tonnes and 1.7 tonnes. Currently, there are no electric small trucks with this payload in the market. There is only one small electric truck with a payload of 600 kg.
“For a customer who runs a pick-up for about 150 km a day, the new e-trucks will provide savings of up to ₹17,000 per month compared with a diesel-power vehicle. This will be net savings after paying EMI, fuel, and maintenance costs,” Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch Mobility, told businessline.
The new small trucks come with high voltage – 330v – high voltage architecture, which will promise better turnaround time when compared with the competition.
Pre-bookings, deliveries
The company has also secured pre-bookings for about 13,000 units of these electric small trucks from various customers including e-commerce players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Transworld and other major logistics firms like TVS Logistics. These orders have to be delivered over a year or two.
“While there is growing preference for green vehicles by the e-commerce players and others, buyers in this segment are looking for vehicles that help them incur less expenditure and more margins. I believe there is a tectonic shift happening in last-mile and mid-mile delivery segments. This calls for a new set of products and we have configured IeV series vehicles based on substantial customer feedback and the shift happening in this segment,” said Babu.
The company’s factory at Hosur will produce these trucks and the deliveries will start in January 2024.
About 100 outlets across the country will retail these trucks in the next year, while 45 dealers have already come on board. The company has also signed up with banks and financial institutions to provide lending support for purchasing these trucks.
e-bus and eLCV
Ashok Leyland seeks to focus on the electric bus and electric LCV segment through Switch. This launch is part of the company’s current strategy to launch electric trucks in the sub-7.5 tonne category CV space.
IeV series is a modular and scalable platform that can come out with vehicles with payload starting from 1.2-4.5 tonne.
In the electric bus business, Switch has already supplied more than 750 e-buses globally.
It’s gearing up to launch its new electric bus in the European market soon. “The new bus will be produced out of Switch’s facility in the UK and sold in Europe. However, some parts will go from India,” Shenu Agarwal, MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland told businessline.
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