By Dr Andy Palmer CMG, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO
Switch Mobility Ltd. (“Switch” or “the company”), the new electrified commercial vehicles group backed by the Hinduja Group, today announces its formal launch by combining the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the former Optare company to secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles.
A new leadership team has been appointed to leverage the legacymanufacturing and innovation capabilities of Ashok Leyland and Optare, while applying cutting-edgetechnologies to provide customers with industry-leading low cost of ownership and net zero emissions transport solutions globally.
Dr Andy Palmer has beenappointed as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1st July 2021, supported byan experiencedteam 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. Further Leadership appointments will be announced shortly.
With the combined expertise of its teams in UK and India, Switch will build on its experience of having more than 280electric vehicles in service with over 26 million miles covered. The company’s potential has been enhanced through technological collaboration with partnersincluding Siemens to deliver e-mobility solutions that already offer the lowest Total Cost of Ownership for CV customers in India. As part of its ramp-up, Switch has already signedcustomer agreements with leading logistic operators and secured orders fora 2000-strong e-LCVfleet withcustomer trials startingthis month.
Mr. Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman of Switch Mobility, 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 inglobal markets. I am confident that with Andy Palmer at the helm,we will accelerate our vision to be at the forefront in thisfield soon.”
Dr. Andy Palmer, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO and of Switch Mobility, commented:“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-upand 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. I’m delighted to have become part of the Executive Leadership team and believe we have all the required ingredients to become a leading global e-bus and e-truck player, trail-blazing the way to zero-carbon public transport.”
