Switch Mobility assesses closure of UK bus plant
A statement from Ashok Leyland said that the board of directors of Switch UK has begun a consultation process which “could potentially lead to cessation of its manufacturing and assembly activities at the Sherburn facility.”
Opened in 2011, the 13,000 sq-metre Sherburn factory employs hundreds of people, with at least 200 jobs at risk from the potential closures. Switch UK is comprised of three manufacturing plants in total, and posted a loss of between £20m and £21m this year. Citing ‘economy uncertainty’ and ‘slower than expected’ EV adoption in public transport, the company says it wants to focus on growing its sales in the Indian market – which it believes is set to boom over the coming years. This is despite recent reports which suggest the UK remains the leading market for electric buses in Europe thanks to the ZEBRA programme.
Ashok Leyland MD and CEO, Shenu Agarwal, said: “While Ashok Leyland remained committed to the UK market over the last 15 years, adoption of zero-emission passenger vehicles has been tepid. This seems to be the right time to cut down losses in the UK market. On the other hand, the EV bus market in India is doing exceptionally well. Switch India is likely to achieve EBITDA breakeven in FY25, and is hoping to treble volumes in FY26, on the back of 1800+ e-Bus orders in hand.”
If its facilities close, Switch UK will complete all existing orders and provide support for existing vehicles in the country. The firm said it plans to cater to the UK and Europe “once the market recovers” – but from its manufacturing facilities in India and the UAE, rather than the UK.
The company’s CFO, K. M. Balaji, added: “Switch India is doing much better than expected and should not require significant equity infusion in near future. On an overall basis the value accretion from Switch EV business is expected to be much more than the investments made in these entities.”
Switch UK manufactures a number of electric buses for public transport, namely its Switch EiV series. This is comprised of varying size buses including the Switch E1, Switch Metrocity and the double decker Switch Metrodecker – all designed for European markets. It was formerly known as Optare and was acquired by Ashok Leyland in 2011 – before being rebranded as Switch Mobility in 2020.
Some public transport operators including Transport For London (TfL) continue to use Switch vehicles in their fleets. In 2022, TfL recalled 90 MetroDecker buses from the roads after six of them burst into flames at a garage north of London. They were returned to service after an investigation by Switch UK and TfL.
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