E-Bus Rolls Out Wider

Switch Mobility's low-floor electric city buses assure cleaner, smarter urban transit

- writes Richa Tyagi.

In India's evolving public transport landscape, Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle arm of Ashok Leyland and part of the Hinduja Group, continues to push its city bus solutions that augur well for public transport. The Switch EiV12 low-floor electric bus has created a pull effect for the company. Claimed to have been built, designed, and developed entirely in India, it blends sustainability, smart engineering, and passenger comfort. This has resulted in the company having an order pipeline of 1800 units, split between 950 to be delivered to Delhi Transport Corporation, 320 to Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation and about 500 to Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Ltd.

Overall, the Indian electric city bus market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21 per cent by 2030, with an EV penetration of 70 per cent. The total parc for electric city buses is expected to cross 70,000 units by 2030 from around 3600 units at present, which explains the Switch Mobility focus on the e-bus segment of nine and 12 metres. Ashok P. Hinduja, Chairman of the Hinduja Group of Companies (India), acknowledged the pressing challenges faced by urban centres, such as congestion and pollution, which the OEM is looking to address. He hailed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari's efforts in addressing these issues head-on and leading India into a transformative era of electric and sustainable transportation.