Ashok Leyland plans to invest Rs 1,200 crore into Switch Mobility

The Board of Directors of Ashok Leyland in their meeting held on Thursday have approved an investment of Rs 1,200 crore in Switch Mobility as equity through its holding company Optare PLC UK. The funds infused will be used for capital expenditure, research and development, and meeting operational requirements both in the UK and India. The funds will be infused over the next few months after necessary statutory approvals in one or more tranches.

Switch Group of Companies (Switch Mobility Ltd - UK and Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd - India) house the Electric Mobility initiative of the commercial vehicle major, Ashok Leyland, focusing on e-Buses and e-LCVs. Over the last few years, Switch India has had major success in garnering orders from State Transport Undertakings. As of date, Switch in India and the UK has over 800 buses plying successfully and has an order book of over 1,200 buses. Switch India had a successful launch of India’s only Double Decker e-Bus last year.

In September 2023, Switch India launched its state-of-the-art e-LCVs. The company has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) of over 13,000 vehicles for its much-awaited e-LCVs, which it will start delivering from the fourth quarter of the current financial year.

“Electric vehicles, especially in buses and light trucks, have a very bright future as governments and private customers are driving the green agenda. We are very happy with the progress made by Switch, and we will continue to invest in building its capabilities. We are confident that Switch will grow further in the European markets with the launch in 2024 of our new E1 12m bus developed specifically for the European market. Our portfolio of electric buses will cover value and premium segments, meeting all price points for many global markets,” said Dheeraj G Hinduja, Executive Chairman, Ashok Leyland.

“The market for EVs is growing rapidly driven by the trend towards carbon neutrality. The government support is further helping the market to expand. We will continue to build capability in this business by investing in product development as well as in expanding operations. Both India and European markets are going to be important growth centres for EV trucks and buses. In the coming year, we are expecting our e-LCVs to drive faster customer adoption. The balance sheet of Ashok Leyland can comfortably fund the initiatives of Switch,” said Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Ashok Leyland.