Ashok Leyland’s arm Switch Mobility launched. Former Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer is the new CEO

Switch Mobility announced its formal launch on July 2nd 2021. Behind the name lies the new electrified commercial vehicles group backed by the Indian Hinduja Group. Switch Mobility combines the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the former bus manufacturer Optare company (a quite well-known brand in London bus fleet, that in 2020 announced the launch of fuel cell double decker bus…) «to secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles», as the company states.

A new leadership team has been appointed to leverage the legacy manufacturing and innovation capabilities of Ashok Leyland and Optare. Andy Palmer (former Aston Martin boss) has been appointed Executive Vice Chairman & CEO since 1st July.

Palmer is supported by an experienced team of experts. 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, the company says.

Switch Mobility builds on Optare – Ashok Leyland experience

With the combined expertise of its teams in UK and India, Switch Mobility will build on its experience of having more than 280 electric vehicles in service with over 26 million miles covered. The company’s potential has been enhanced through technological collaboration with partners including Siemens to deliver e- mobility solutions in India. As part of its ramp-up, Switch Mobility has already signed customer agreements with leading logistic operators and secured orders for a 2,000-strong e-LCV fleet with customer trials starting this month, company points out.

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 in global markets. I am confident that with Andy Palmer at the helm, we will accelerate our vision to be at the forefront in this field soon.”

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-up and 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.”