Ashok Leyland's electric vehicle arm, Switch Mobility, has unveiled India’s first electric double-decker air-conditioned bus - Switch EiV 22. The commercial vehicle OEM claims that this electric double-decker bus has been designed, developed, and manufactured in India, utilising Switch’s global electric bus experience.
Featuring a capability to ferry twice as many passengers (65) as a normal bus, Switch EiV 22 is 18% heavier than a normal bus. The company will position this double-decker electric bus in the urban commuting space. Powering Switch EiV 22 is a 231 kWh capacity, 2-string, liquid-cooled, higher density NMC chemistry battery pack with a dual gun charging system. This enables the bus to have a range of up to 250 km for intra-city applications.
Switch India has secured an order of 200 electric double-decker buses from the Mumbai administration and is looking at a dominant space in the electric double-decker segment across key regions in the country. Bus components are manufactured in India, which will enable FAME-II compliance, noted Dheeraj Hinduja, Chairman, Switch Mobility. He said, 'Ashok Leyland was a pioneer among Indian manufacturers when it first launched the double-decker in 1967 in Mumbai and Switch is carrying forward that legacy.'
Notably, there are over 100 Switch electric double-deckers in service on the UK roads. Built using a semi-low floor architecture, Switch's double-decker electric bus for India features air conditioning and is built using aluminium body construction. The news of Switch launching an electric double-decker bus in India has come at a time when the country's Government is looking to procure 50,000 electric buses.
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) is also planning to introduce double-decker buses in Mumbai starting September 2022. The last double-decker bus was taken off the Mumbai roads in 2008.
Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch Mobility India and COO, Switch Mobility Ltd, said, 'The Switch EiV 22 is designed and developed to meet Indian conditions while at the same time providing superior customer comfort and delight. Mumbai and double-deckers are synonymous with public transport, and we are certain that Switch EiV 22 will not only bring back fond memories for Mumbaikars, but it will transform the public transport space in terms of sustainability and footprint which is the need of the hour in India.”