Ashok Leyland EV arm launches its first electric bus in India

Switch Mobility, the UK-based electric mobility arm of Ashok Leyland (Hinduja group) on Tuesday launched its electric bus platform ‘SWITCH EiV 12’ for the Indian market. This platform will allow Switch to make electric buses for intra-city, inter-city, staff, school and tarmac (airport roads) applications.

While the company has already launched electric buses on the same platform in the United Kingdom and Spain, this will be the first offering on the said platform for India. “The powertrain used in the fourth-generation electric bus platform is more reliable and 16% more energy efficient using the same battery size in comparison with the buses made on the third generation,” said Mahesh Babu, chief executive officer of Switch Mobility India and the chief operations officer of Switch Mobility Ltd.

It is looking to equip the public transport buses made on this platform with features that are commonly found only in personal vehicles including recliner seats, air conditioner vents with individual controls, USB charging points and WiFi on buses.

While personal vehicles and cars allow only those who can afford them to switch to e-mobility, the company wants to democratise zero-carbon mobility and make it accessible for everyone, Babu said.

The bus equipped with a lithium-ion-based NMC chemistry battery will offer a range of up to 300 km with a single charge, and up to 500 km with dual gun fast charging in a day. While the company is currently assembling its own battery packs, it sources its cells from China, Babu said to the media.

The company has localised about 60% of its manufacturing components and is currently in talks with Indian cell manufacturers who have applied for the government’s production-linked incentive scheme to localise cell sourcing too.

Switch has got orders for 600 buses, half of which have come from the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Mumbai bus transport has also shown interest, Babu said to DH. “We will deliver 50 buses by this month-end to the BMTC,” he added in a post-launch press conference.

For those who want to save on the high total cost of ownership, Switch - through its subsidiary OHM Global Mobility – will provide electric Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). In this, the buses will be owned and operated by Switch through a pay-per-km-based system.

In the next few months, the company will launch light commercial vehicles for Indian markets.