The company's EV push will be done through UK-based Switch Mobility - a combined entity of Ashok Leyland's electric CV operations and erstwhile Optare of UK
Commercial vehicles (CV) major Ashok Leyland lined up its electric vehicle (EV) road map on Wednesday, setting a target of becoming one of the world's top 10 CV brands.
The company's EV push will be done through UK-based Switch Mobility — a combined entity of Ashok Leyland's electric CV operations and the erstwhile Optare of the UK.
Switch Mobility will be launching its first electric light commercial vehicle (e-LCV) in India by the end of December; it has secured 2,000 orders. These vehicles will be manufactured in India and sold under the Switch brand. The group has plans to invest $150-200 million in the EV space in the next few years.
Ashok Leyland said on Wednesday it has invested around $136 million in Switch Mobility and expects the new entity to raise its own capital in the future.
"Investors and strategic partners keen to tie up. We do not see any immediate fund requirement from Ashok Leyland," said Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility.
It was in 2013 that the Hinduja flagship company Ashok Leyland first evinced an interest in the EV space by acquiring British busmaker Optare Plc, while it lined up EV plans in India three years ago. The company already has expertise - it has more than 280 EVs in service covering over 26 million miles on a test basis.
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