Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland Ltd, which unveiled its IeV series of electric light commercial vehicles (e-LCVs) over two months back, is upbeat about the battery-driven light trucks and has already received 10,000 bookings for them, the top company official said.
“We will be launching our own electric LCVs in the Q4 (fourth quarter) of this financial year. From the initial discussions we’ve had, I think the customers are very much looking forward to this (product). And we've got a very strong orderbook of over 10,000 vehicles as well,” said Dheeraj Hinduja, Executive Chairman of Ashok Leyland.
Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle division of Ashok Leyland, unveiled the two new e-LCVs in Chennai. The company claimed that IEV3 & 4 are tailor-made to provide eco-friendly solutions for last-mile transportation needs and have been developed at a project cost of about Rs 100 crore and the products will be built at Ashok Leyland’s Hosur facility.
Dubbed 'twin brothers', the IeV 3 and IeV 4 vehicles are enabled with a 330 V high voltage EV architecture in the 2-3.5 tonne commercial vehicle category. The vehicles come equipped with a cargo body extending up to 9.7 feet and are capable of holding a container of 340 cubic feet, as revealed by the company earlier.
ICE unaffected
Hinduja was also categorical that the boom in sales of electric three-wheelers (E3Ws) had not adversely impacted its ICE-powered LCV market. In his view, the movement towards electric mobility is happening depending on the “customer’s own application requirements”.
“There has been a growth in electric three-wheelers (as) their sales have increased substantially. But I don't think they have completely replaced the utilisation of what is happening, especially in the segment (LCV) that we operate with Dost and Bada Dost,” added Hinduja.
Meanwhile, Hinduja acknowledged that the global uncertainty, ongoing unrest and the energy crisis may hamper its electric bus demand in European countries in the future.
“While in India, the government has been very encouraging and has been pushing forward the green agenda, many of the European countries, especially in the UK, have delayed the timeline of how the diesel was going to be phased out. But that does not mean the volumes aren't coming. We see a lot of tenders that are coming through. But the pace is definitely slower,” Hinduja said.
He maintained that once some of these “disturbing situations” in Europe settle down, it will see the growth momentum once again.
Fund infusion
Ashok Leyland also announced that its board has approved an investment of Rs 1,200 crore in its EV arm Switch Mobility for capital expenditure, R&D and meeting operational requirements in the UK as well as in India. The funds will be infused over the next few months after necessary statutory approvals in one or more tranches.
When queried if the company would be on the lookout for strategic stake dilution, Hinduja said, “We felt that we needed a partner who would have the long-term vision that we do. We also wanted to get the right valuations as well. But it's been over four or five months that the board had decided that it would be better for Ashok Leyland to continue this growth (through funds infusion).”
Hinduja said the rollout of e-LCVs in the domestic market and E1 e-bus in the overseas markets will give a lot more confidence to investors in the kind of products Switch is working on.
“This infusion (of Rs 1,200 crore) gives further confidence that the business plans of Switch (Mobility) are robust and are moving in the right direction. It fits very well with the long-term growth for all the alternative fuels that we were preparing for their (Switch’s) customer requirements. When you compare where Switch stands versus so many other EV companies that had raised capital (and) had given very ambitious plans, our future is very bright.”
e-mobility transition
Hinduja also said that the transition to e-mobility in India is happening at a rapid pace and foresaw the EV penetration to be to the tune of 20 percent in buses by the end of the decade.
“I think the transition is very much country-wise. If you look at it on a global basis, I do feel that the transition is lower than what one had expected. But India has been a very positive surprise at the pace that EVs have picked up over here. In terms of how the numbers will pan out towards the end of the decade, I don't really have an update on that as such. But what we are seeing is, especially on the bus side in India, I would expect close to 20 percent of the sales here should be electric.”
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
