Switch Mobility Ltd. (Switch), the electric vehicle arm of Ashok Leyland, is planning to set up a greenfield project to make electric buses at an investment of about ₹1,000 crore, said a top official.
“Currently, we are evaluating different sites to make e-buses,” said Mahesh Babu, director & CEO, Switch Mobility India in an interview. “The new plant would come up in the vicinity of Ashok Leyland’s existing facility.”
Stating they were preparing multiple blueprints based on the EV policies of different states, he said that a final decision would be taken in the next four to six weeks.
Switch would invest about ₹1,000 crore in the new facility, which would have an initial production capacity of 2,500 buses per annum. It would be doubled based on demand.
On Tuesday, Switch in the presence of its chairman Dheeraj Hinduja rolled out its maiden electric bus ‘Switch EiV 12’ for the Indian market. These buses are currently manufactured at ALL’s Ennore facility.
“Right now, Switch has an order book of 600 e-buses. The first 50 buses will be delivered to Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) by the month end,” said Mr. Hinduja.
Out of the 600 buses, 300 are meant for BMTC, 200 double deck buses for Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking and 100 for employees/staff transport. Besides, it is also actively working on developing luxury buses for STCs.
“Within the first three months of the current fiscal, we have bagged orders for 600 buses and might end the year with around 1,000 buses. Of this, 600 buses would be delivered this year,” Mr. Babu said.
Asked about the fund-raising programme, Mr. Babu said that they needed about £200 million for short-term period of 2-3 years and another £100 million for 3-5 years. Thereafter, they might tap the capital market.
On exports, Mr. Hinduja said using ALL’s vast network, Switch would explore the possibility of entering newer markets such as Africa, Middle East and South East Asian countries.
“These vehicles have an indigenisation level of 60% and our first priority is to sell them in domestic market. Going forward, we will make country/region specific buses with left-hand drive, heat controller etc.,” added Mr. Babu.
According to him, Switch officials, EiV 12 will cater to the mobility needs intra-city, inter-city, staff, school and at tarmac. It is equipped with lithium-ion battery offering up to 300 km with single charge, and up to 500 kms with dual gun fast charging.
EiV 12 is embedded with ‘Switch iON’, proprietary, connected technology solutions. The bus is available in two variants – EiV 12 low floor and EiV 12 standard.
“The launch of our next generation electric bus platform in India is an important milestone for Switch Mobility. Our aspiration is to make electric products more accessible in India, U.K., Europe and many Global markets, contributing significantly to the rapidly growing zero carbon mobility,” said Mr. Hinduja.
