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Switch Mobility Ltd, electric vehicle arm of Hinduja Group said it has combined the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the Optare company to secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles.
A new leadership team has also announced the decision to leverage the legacy manufacturing and innovation capabilities of Ashok Leyland and Optare, according to a statement.
Dr Andy Palmer, who joined the Board of Optare last year as non-executive Chairman, has been appointed as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Switch Mobility from July 1, 2021, supported by an experienced team, which includes Nitin Seth as Chief Operating Officer, Sarwant Singh Saini as Chief Planning Officer and Roger Blakey as Chief Technical Officer. Further Leadership appointments will be announced shortly.
“Hinduja Group is focused on providing the needed thrust to our on-going initiatives in the rapidly growing zero carbon mobility sector. This is orchestrated through combining the advanced engineering and development skills in the UK and India to address the demand in 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,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman of Switch Mobility.
With the combined expertise of its teams in the UK and India, Switch will build on its experience of having more than 280 electric vehicles in service with over 26 million miles covered.
“Switch holds a unique position in an increasingly competitive marketplace with our EV 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,” said Palmer, a renowned automotive expert who had stints in Nissan and Aston Martin.
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 EV customers in India.
As part of its ramp-up, Switch 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.
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