Switch Mobility bags huge electric-bus order from JSW

Ashok Leyland’s electric arm Switch Mobility has won an order to supply e-buses to JSW Group, in what they said was the largest electric-bus order in India for employee commuting.

As part of the deal, Switch will provide 71 buses to ferry workers at the Vijayanagar plant of the group’s steel-making unit, JSW Steel.

The private-sector deal comes at a time when the world’s fourth-largest automobile market is seeing more traction for the electrification of public transport.

Switch Mobility will own and oversee entire operations, including the setting up of charging infrastructure and requisite maintenance efficacy, over a 12-year contract period, according to a statement on Monday.

The first set of e-buses was flagged-off by JSW Group Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal and Switch Global Chief Executive Officer Mahesh Babu.

“The private bus market in India is one of the key transportation markets in the country constituting 70 per cent market share, of which the private electric bus market is expected to be valued at Rs 6,000 crore in the next five years,” Babu said.

Experts said it made economic sense to electrify this segment of mobility.

“The asset sweat and the circularity of motion are high in this segment. Even the charging infrastructure is available,” said Som Kapoor, Partner, EY.

In the public bus segment, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) had said in May that it would deploy 50,000 electric buses in the country by 2030 in partnership with the State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in a bid to drastically cut down emissions. India has already seen orders placed for more than 5,500 public transport e-buses so far.