Switch Mobility to deliver 5,000 electric buses to India

Switch Mobility, the UK subsidiary of Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland, and Indian transport company Chalo have entered into a strategic cooperation to deploy 5,000 electric buses across India.

The Memorandum of Understanding, initially for three years, will see Switch e-buses deployed in districts and cities across India where Chalo operates. Under the agreement, Switch will supply variants of the EiV12 model to Chalo.

The EiV12 is an electric bus designed specifically for the Indian market. There are two variants of the vehicle – the standard with a 90-centimetre high floor and the EiV12 with “ultra-low entry” – where the vehicle floor is 40 centimetres above the road surface. The drive is the same in both cases: the e-motor produces 235 kW at peak and 140 kW continuously. Apart from the fact that it is an NMC battery, Switch does not give any further details about the battery and its size. With one charge, 300 kilometres are said to be possible during the day – if recharged twice, it is 500 kilometres.

“The signing of this MoU with Chalo firmly establishes Switch as one of the pre-eminent manufacturers of zero emissions buses globally,” says Andy Palmer, global CEO of Switch. “Our engineering expertise across the UK, Europe and India and new product range across all three of our key markets leaves us well positioned to continue to grow our order bank and meet the challenges authorities and operators face in decarbonizing their bus network.”

“Buses make up for 48% of India’s daily travel, and yet we have just 3 buses for 10,000 people” says Mohit Dubey, co-founder and CEO of Chalo. “Growing bus fleets and providing high-quality buses are key to achieving Chalo’s purpose of making travel better for everyone.”

Recently, Switch Mobility had also presented the new generation of its electric bus ‘e1’, specifically designed for markets in continental Europe, and announced the construction of a factory in Spain.

switchmobility.tech, switchmobility.tech (specs of the EiV12)