 "Ashok Leyland, electric light commercial vehicle")
Celebrating its 75th anniversary on Thursday, Ashok Leyland has launched its electric light commercial vehicle, the IeV series. Interestingly, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with several e-commerce and other industry players — including Amazon and Flipkart — to supply around 13,000 vehicles in the IeV series, over a period of three years.
This can be compared to the fact that India sold fewer than 100 e-LCVs during the last financial year, with Tata Motors being the only player in the segment. Switch IeV will come with the same cabin shell as Ashok Leyland's Dost and Bada Dost, and hence the company will be able to ramp up production easily as per requirement. Interestingly, two of these deals are signed for overseas players — IFAD Autos for Bangladesh and IME Motors for Nepal. Switch Mobility's Chief Executive Officer, Mahesh Babu, told Business Standard that the company will begin accepting bookings in October and commence deliveries in January 2024.
Babu added that the company is looking to sell around 3,000 units per year of its IeV series initially. This is part of the investment of Rs 1,200 crore by Ashok Leyland in Switch Mobility. The companies that signed a memorandum of understanding with Switch Mobility include Amazon Seller Services, Instakart Services by Flipkart, electric mobility-focused technology platform MoEVing, Mumbai-based Transvolt Mobility, tech-driven EV charging player Chargezone, TVS Trucks and Buses, BluWheelz Mobility Services, Metro Waste Handling, Amplus Power Supply, Skyline Motors, Antony Commercial Vehicles, Futmobi Ventures, NG Sales, Sharma Associates, IFAD Autos, and IME Motors.
“We have seen sales of around 83 vehicles in the e-LCV segment last financial year. That is expected to grow to 1,500 this year and maybe 3,000 next year. We are targeting a larger share of this growth,” Babu said. Ashok Leyland also showcased its 9-metre hydrogen fuel-cell electric bus developed for the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which is also the country’s first commercially operational fuel-cell bus. It also displayed India’s first hydrogen internal combustion engine truck, a product it developed in tie-up with Reliance Industries.
The new launch is coming at a time when Switch Mobility increased its market share in the bus segment from a mere 3 per cent in FY22 to 20 per cent in FY23. The company has an order book of about 1,500-plus e-buses at this point. “If this vehicle runs for more than 150 kilometres, it will give customers an added advantage of Rs 17,000 per month. We will also have around 45 dealerships at 70 locations across the country. This network is selected out of Ashok Leyland's dealership network in key areas,” Babu said.
Driven mainly by e-commerce players, the company is expecting a huge jump in electric LCV sales by 2030. “We are poised to see at least 65 million vehicles by 2030 and the industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 45 per cent. Also, we may see around 30 per cent adoption of e-buses and 20 per cent adoption in the LCV segment by 2030 in India,” he added.
