Ashok Leyland, a flagship of Hinduja Group, on Friday, November 27, said it was renaming its United Kingdom subsidiary Optare Group as Switch Mobility Ltd for driving towards electrification, and new mobility services.

Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Ashok Leyland, after new logo and branding unveiling, said, “Optare is adopting a new identity and logo as ''Switch'' which signals our strategic ambitions in electric and green mobility. Towards this, Ashok Leyland is examining various options to bring the entire electric vehicle initiatives of Ashok Leyland under Switch Mobility Ltd. The strategy reflects the clear growth opportunities in the global light commercial vehicle and bus electric vehicle which is projected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of more than 25 per cent and to be worth in the region of USD 50 billion by 2030. To capture part of that market, we are considering EV initiatives through Switch that could include financial participation and strategic tie-ups.”

After rebranding, Switch will be building on the success of Optare in the United Kingdom, where it is renowned as a leading player in the electric buses, with 150+ of those currently operating successfully in its home market.

In recent times, Optare was renamed as OEM of the Year (Bus/Commercial Vehicle) at the 2020 EVIEs awards ceremony.

The company stated it was currently completing orders of 30 electric double-decker buses to Metroline in London, and also into Tower Transit, London, and First York.

Ashok Leyland told, "This will create a foundation for the expansion of Switch''s operations in Europe and growth in India and other parts of the world.”

Vipin Sondhi , Ashok Leyland MD, explained, "with our proposed new structure, Switch will be positioned to become the potential global arm of Ashok Leyland focused on electric vehicles and green mobility solutions.”

He also said that the attribution of this step would enable Ashok Leyland in focusing to the development of new electric vehicle platforms via Switch, which includes next-gen buses, E-LCVs (electric light commercial vehicles), and swiftly scale up the EV business.

“The reorganisation of the Optare group allows us to continue to serve customers with the portfolio of products we have today,” explained Dr Andrew C Palmer, Chairman, Optare Plc. He added, “In position at the forefront of the commercial EV space, Switch Mobility Ltd should benefit the entire organization.”