Hinduja Group formally launches EV making arm Switch, sets up new team

Appoints Andy Palmer as its executive vice chairman and CEO, Nitin Seth as Chief Operating Officer

Switch Mobility, the newly formed electric vehicle firm backed by the Hinduja Group said on Friday that it is formally launching the company by merging the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the former Optare Company as it seeks to secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles.

The company has also formed a new leadership team to leverage the legacy manufacturing and innovation capabilities of Ashok Leyland and Optare, while applying “cutting-edge technologies to provide customers with industry-leading low cost of ownership and net zero emissions transport solutions globally.”

It has appointed Andy Palmer as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with effect from 1st July 2021. Palmer will be supported by an experienced team of experts 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 statement said.

“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 U.K 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 UK and India, Switch will build on its experience of having more than 280 electric vehicles in service with over 26 million miles covered. The company has forged 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, it said. As part of its ramp-up, Switch has signed customer agreements with leading logistic operators and secured orders for a 2000-strong e-LCV fleet with customer trials starting this month.

Switch was forged from the innovative EV elements of Ashok Leyland, the third largest bus and LCV OEM in the world, and Optare, the UK bus manufacturer with over a century of expertise in using the latest technologies in bus design. In 2014, Switch introduced the first British built, pure electric buses to London’s roads and since then has 280 EVs already on the road, clocking up over 26 million electric miles in developed and developing markets.