Will double-down on India EV market.
In wake of continuing general economicuncertainty faced in both the UK and Europe, and slower than expectedtransition to EVs in public transport, the Board of Directors of SwitchMobility Limited UK (Switch UK) have approved commencement of consultation processwith the employees which could potentially lead to cessation of itsmanufacturing and assembly activities at the Sherburn facility. Switch UK willexecute and complete all the orders on hand and will continue to provideaftermarket support for the existing vehicle parc.
The plan is to cater to the UK and Europemarkets when market recovers, from Ashok Leyland’s alternate manufacturingsites in India and UAE. At the same time, the Switch Mobility Automotive Ltd,India (Switch India) is planning to double-down on the high-growth India EVmarket, which is poised to grow multi-fold in the next few years.
Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Ashok Leyland said, “While Ashok Leyland remained committed to the UKmarket over the last 15 years, adoption of zero emission passenger vehicles hasbeen tepid. This seems to be the right time to cut down losses in the UKmarket. On the other hand, the EV bus market in India is doing exceptionallywell. Switch India is likely to achieve EBITDA breakeven in FY25, and is hopingto treble volumes in FY26, on back of 1,800+ e-Bus orders in hand. In e-LCVs,within the 2-3.5T segment, the Company’s market share is at 80 per cent plus,with prospects of 50-80 per cent volume growth in FY26.”
K M Balaji, Chief Financial Officer, AshokLeyland, said, “The potential cessation of manufacturing activities is expectedto mitigate the losses of UK operations. The current cash flow requirements ofSwitch UK will be borne out of GBP 45-mn of equity infusion already approved bythe Board of Ashok Leyland in February this year. Switch India is doing muchbetter than expected and should not require significant equity infusion in nearfuture. On an overall basis, the value accretion from Switch EV business isexpected to be much more than the investments made in these entities.”