Switch Mobility, Ashok Leyland's electric mobility arm, has announced that Mahesh Babu will hold two leadership positions with immediate effect: Chief Operating Officer of Switch Mobility Ltd and CEO of Switch Mobility, India.

Babu has over 25 years of experience in mobility and joins Switch from Mahindra Electric where he was MD and CEO. Under his leadership, Mahindra Electric launched six new electric vehicles including 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler commercial vehicles as well as the innovative software platform, NEMO.

One of the most prestigious projects under his leadership was India’s first monocoque SUV, the XUV500. Furthermore, he has been instrumental in shaping future mobility policy in India by delivering electric TCO solutions through groundbreaking initiatives in passenger vehicles, commercial fleets, and last mile mobility. He actively contributed to various EV committees of both central and State governments, CII and FICCI.

Until recently, he served as the Chairman of the Electric Mobility Group at SIAM, the APEX Automotive Association of India and before joining Mahindra, he previously worked at Ashok Leyland.

This key appointment is the latest step in a series of recent high profile appointments of  leadership positions at Switch Mobility, which is aiming to secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles.

Andy Palmer, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Switch Mobility, said: “I am delighted to announce this appointment as Mahesh brings over 25 years’ of experience to Switch and his expertise as a CEO and track record as an EV pioneer is well-known. He joins a strong leadership team and I look forward to working with him closely to achieving our ambition to provide net zero carbon van and bus solutions globally and realising our bold sustainability objectives at Switch.”

Commenting on his joining the company, Babu said: “Switch Mobility is determined to progress the adoption of zero-carbon transportation and I am pleased to be joining such a driven and distinguished team. The uptake of zero-carbon commercial mobility products and solutions globally is both a personal and professional aspiration of mine and I believe Switch has the capability and the compelling offering to create a leading first-class global electric vehicle company.I lookforward to being part of its growth story.”