A new leadership team has been appointed to “leverage the legacy manufacturing and innovation capabilities of Ashok Leyland and Optare”, the company said.
Dr Andy Palmer has been appointed as executive vice chairman and chief executive officer from 1 July 2021. Also named were Nitin Seth as chief operating officer, Sarwant Singh Saini as chief planning officer and Roger Blakey as chief technical officer.
With the combined expertise of its teams in UK and India, Switch 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 for CV customers in India.
As part of its ramp-up, Switch has already signed customer agreements with leading logistic operators and secured orders for a 2,000-strong e-LCV fleet, with customer trials starting in July 2021.
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.”
Palmer 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.”