Switch UK, the electric bus subsidiary of India’s Ashok Leyland, has begun a consultation process on the possible closure of its manufacturing plant in Sherburn, Yorkshire, as the company shifts its focus to India’s growing electric bus market.
The 13,000-square-meter Sherburn facility, which opened in 2011, employs hundreds of workers, with at least 200 jobs at risk if operations cease. The company cited economic uncertainty and slower-than-expected adoption of electric buses in the UK as key reasons for the potential shutdown, despite the country leading Europe’s electric bus market through initiatives like the ZEBRA program.
“While Ashok Leyland remained committed to the UK market over the last 15 years, adoption of zero-emission passenger vehicles has been tepid,” said Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO of Ashok Leyland. “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 has secured over 1,800 electric bus orders and expects to reach EBITDA breakeven in fiscal year 2025, with plans to triple volumes in 2026. The company said it intends to continue serving UK and European customers once demand recovers, but from production sites in India and the UAE rather than the UK.
Switch UK manufactures several electric bus models, including the Switch E1, Metrocity, and Metrodecker, for public transport operators such as Transport for London (TfL). The company was formerly known as Optare before Ashok Leyland acquired it in 2011 and rebranded it as Switch Mobility in 2020.
