Ashok Leyland Names Ex Aston Martin Chief Andy Palmer As EV Arm Head
New Delhi : Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland on Friday said it has appointed former Aston Martin chief Andy Palmer as Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of its electric vehicle arm Switch Mobility.
Switch Mobility, which commenced formal operations from Friday, combines the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and its British arm Optare to secure a leading global position in net-zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles.
Andy Palmer has been appointed as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from July 1 supported by an experienced team of experts to deliver the company”s ambitions to be a leader in urban e-mobility, Ashok Leyland, a Hiduja Group firm, said in a statement.
This includes the appointment of Nitin Seth as Chief Operating Officer, Sarwant Singh Saini as Chief Planning Officer and Roger Blakey as Chief Technical Officer, it added.
Further leadership appointments will be announced shortly, the company said.
“Hinduja Group is focused on providing the needed thrust to our ongoing initiatives in the rapidly growing zero-carbon mobility sector. This is orchestrated through combining the advanced engineering and development skills in the UK and India to address the demand in global markets.
“I am confident that with Andy Palmer at the helm, we will accelerate our vision to be at the forefront in this field soon,” Ashok Leyland Chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said.
Palmer said Switch holds a unique position in an increasingly competitive marketplace with its electric commercial vehicles already clocking millions of miles in service.
“We embrace the ethos of a startup and enjoy the legacies of intellectual property, borne from more than a decade of technical expertise and engineering experience, that is already revenue-generating and delivering for our customers.
“I”m delighted to have become part of the executive leadership team and believe we have all the required ingredients to become a leading global e-bus and e-truck player, trail-blazing the way to zero-carbon public transport,” he added.
Switch Mobility combines elements of Ashok Leyland, the third largest bus and light commercial vehicle (LCV) original equipment manufacturer in the world, and Optare, the UK bus manufacturer with over a century of expertise in using the latest technologies in bus design.
As part of its ramp-up, Switch has already signed customer agreements with leading logistics operators and secured orders for a 2,000 e-LCV fleet with customer trials starting this month.
Source: PTI
