Cover story Cooler e-LCVs S

Switch Mobility forayed into e-LCVs

witch Mobility was aptly stationed alongside the Ashok Leyland booth at the Auto Expo 2023 - The Motor Show. The company, as hinted earlier during its electric bus launches in 2022, came good on the time line of its intended electric Light Commercial Vehicles (e-LCV) foray. The e-LCV segment is the other priority segment after electric buses for Switch. Having given a sneak peek at the work underway on previous occasions, the power train modularities for e-LCVs fructified. The Switch ion platform also underpins the bus range, from the Switch EiV 9 Standard to the ultra-low floor Switch EiV 12 up to the double-decker Switch EiV 22, most recently in the news for deliveries in India to STUs like BEST in Maharashtra and BMTC in Bengaluru besides the most recent transportation of the G20 delegates. The products have also entered Chandigarh, Patna and Ahmedabad.

Drawing on its Ashok Leyland and Optare DNA, the LCV foray is a testimony to the flexibility and the go-to-market agility at our disposal, and an outcome of a journey that began a decade ago, averred Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman at the company. He said, “It is when we positioned an all-electric bus in the UK a decade ago when the industry, globally, was uncertain about the future of electric vehicles.” “We are fortunate to have Optare in the UK with the proven track record in electric vehicles and Ashok Leyland with its rich market presence, brand equity and above all the rich history of product introductions,” he expressed.

With capabilities to tap into both value and premium segments, globally with its presence in India, the UK and Spain, the company is banking on low-cost engineering support from the India base, the added advantage for the company as per Hinduja. He drew attention to the addressable EV market opportunity in buses, estimated at a “conservative” USD 16 bn by 2030 as per McKinsey studies with a volume of over 42,000 units. Here, the company as per Hinduja, expects the LCV business to be USD 55 bn with a volume of over 420,000 units implying a large market potential for the future growth of Switch. The progress is largely dictated by high battery prices and federal ground, and the momentum has picked up. Hinduja drew attention to the high acquisition costs being addressed by Emobility-as-a-Service (EmaaS) through Switch’s subsidiary company, Ohm Global Mobility, vehicle subscriptions, and Battery as a Service (BaaS) options among Value-Added Services (VAS) for an end-to-end connected EV fleet management system.

While the field may be open for multiple players, the company would like to focus on a profitable and sustainable basis with its innovative products and solutions aimed at offering the lowest Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The latter is achieved through lightweighting, modularity, best-in-class battery packs and state-of-the-art digital adaptation. In line with a global strategy, the company has expanded to nine sites across three countries. It is looking forward to entering new markets in the near term. Backed by the Sterling Pound 300 mn, a recent investment, a new technical centre in Warwick, in the UK and the new office in Chennai with ~4000 employees.

The company is confident of the government’s impetus on infrastructure fuelling the growth of the CV segment where Switch has the right mix of products in both the e-bus and the e-LCV range. The company hopes to launch the showcased e-LCVs soon.

Going deeper, Mahesh Babu, Chief Executive Officer at the company took the press gathering through the new range that marked the e-LCV foray in cargo and people mover categories. The iEV series had the company display the GVW 2.6-tonne (2620 kg) e-LCV truck. The truck offers a volume load of 250 Cu. ft. with a ~150 km range (non-AC) at a 70 kmph speed limit. It draws its power from a motor that has a peak rated power of 40 kW. Babu cited the cornerstone of this development as being the customer needs that have evolved. Today’s fleet operator needs an efficient fleet management system,