Electric bus tech centre to open in the Midlands

A NEW technical centre for the development of electric buses and light commercial vehicles will open in the West Midlands later this year.

The facility will launch in Warwick in June and represents an investment of around £8 million into the region by Leeds-based Switch Mobility, initially creating 130 new jobs.

The centre, in Heathcote Way, is currently undergoing refurbishment work ahead of its opening where staff from engineering, marketing and other teams will be based.

It will have offices and facilities for prototype development of the company’s products and be led by chief technology officer Roger Blakey who has been with the company 18 months and was previously chief vehicle engineer with Warwickshire sports car brand Aston Martin.

The base will act as a focal point of Switch Mobility’s global research and development team focussed on creating the next generation of its vehicles.

The move into Warwick is part of a wider investment of £300 million by Switch Mobility, split equally between its operations in the UK and India which the company said could create up to 4,000 roles across the two countries to develop its product range.

This was first unveiled last week during Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India where the company has delivered its first 12-metre electric bus to the country as part of an order totalling almost 600 units.

Mr Johnson praised the company’s work, saying it was “at the forefront” of the green transport revolution.

Switch Mobility chairman Dheeraj Hinduja said: “We are delighted that the Prime

Minister has commended the investment Switch is making to become a leader in electric transportation as an example of the benefits of UK-India collaboration.”