Ashok Leyland's arm Switch Mobility to invest Rs. 1,000 crore in electric vehicle plant.

Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle arm of Ashok Leyland, will invest Rs. 1,000 crore in a dedicated EV plant in South India and it is likely to be in the state of Tamil Nadu on the outskirts of Chennai, people said. The plan is to install 30,000 units of e-LCV capacity and 10,000 units of electric buses which will help Ashoka to meet the growing demand for EVs for last mile goods and public transport. Switch Mobility last month committed more than ₹3,000 crore on zero-carbon public and commercial transport and set up a plant in Spain.

Switch Mobility CEO Mahesh Babu recently told ET that after completing one year, Switch has already managed to secure orders for 600 electric buses. , which will help the EV arm generate revenue of around $1 billion.

“We have actively participated in tenders for over 7,000 buses. With the plans on the table, we should be able to deliver over 500 buses in FY23, and in the next three to five years we will be able to increase this number. Should be able to grow 10 times. With CESL and BEST orders accelerating in new orders. We are also talking to private operators who are showing interest. The business should deliver healthy growth,” Babu said.

At present the buses are being assembled with the company.

Facility; However, the switch will move to a plant with a dedicated channel, and it already has an independent balance sheet. The EV plant will have LCV and bus and battery pack assembly under one roof. Babu confirmed the need for a dedicated facility but declined to share details.

In addition to cell manufacturing, almost every part of the electric bus is localized to de-risk switches from the global supply chain. Switch is already in talks with cell manufacturers, who have won bids under a production-linked incentive scheme to locally source cells. This will ensure that the local content is stirred up. The buses manufactured by Switch will have local content of over 60%, Babu said.

To meet its future needs, Switch Mobility and its e-mobility-as-a-service unit Om Global are in talks with investors to raise over $250-300 million (combined) for their EVs. which is likely to be finalized in a few weeks.

ET