Switch Mobility unveils electric double decker AC bus
The Hindu
Firm bags contract to deploy 200 such buses for BEST in Mumbai
Switch Mobility Ltd., the electric bus and light commercial vehicle subsidiary of Ashok Leyland Ltd., on Thursday unveiled electric double decker air-conditioned bus Switch EiV 22 which will be deployed by the BEST [Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport] in Mumbai to ferry passengers.
Designed, developed and manufactured in India and utilising Switch’s global electric bus experience, Switch EiV 22 is equipped with the latest technology, ultra-modern design, highest safety and best-in-class comfort features, the company said.
The double decker has a lightweight aluminium body construction, which offers higher passenger-to-weight ratio and a competitive cost per km, per passenger.
It can ferry nearly twice the number of seated passengers as a comparable single decker bus with just 18% increase in kerb weight, it said.
Switch India said it has already secured an order for 200 electric double decker buses in Mumbai which will be deployed in the coming months and now is looking at dominating the electric double decker segment in India by supplying such buses to different cities of the country.
A 231 kWh capacity, 2-string, liquid cooled, higher density NMC chemistry battery pack with dual gun charging system powers the vehicle. This enables the electric double decker to have a range up to 250 km for intra city applications.
Dheeraj Hinduja, chairman, Switch Mobility, said, “It’s an extremely proud moment for us as we bring back the iconic double decker to India. Ashok Leyland was a pioneer among Indian manufacturers when it first launched the double decker in 1967 in Mumbai and Switch is carrying forward that legacy.”
Silver futures soar to ₹2.32 lakh/kg as global prices exceed $75, marking a record high in commodities trading.
Stock markets decline as Sensex and Nifty fall amid foreign fund outflows and low trading volumes on December 26, 2025.
Rupee drops 23 paise to 89.94 against the dollar amid negative equity trends and rising crude prices.
The commencement of commercial flight from the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) is expected to speed up infrastructure and real estate development across Navi Mumbai and surrounding regions, analysts & industry executives said.
GCCs keep India’s tech job market alive, even as IT services industry embarks on a hiring moratorium
Global Capability Centres, offshore subsidiaries set up by multinational corporations, mostly known by an acronym GCCs, are now the primary engine sustaining India’s tech job market, contrasting sharply with the hiring slowdown witnessed by large firms in the country.
India’s manufacturing sector underperforms compared to China and South Korea, partly due to public sector wages that raise costs and reduce competitiveness.
Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, once prominent investors in the Indian equity market are seen shying away due to rupee depreciation and have moved to global funds, said a top financial services executive.
Mobile phones are increasingly migrating to smaller chips that are more energy efficient and powerful supported by specialised Neural Processing Units (NPUs) to accelerate AI workloads directly on devices, said Anku Jain, India Managing Director for MediaTek, a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor firm that claims a 47% market share India’s smartphone chipset market.
In one more instance of a wholly owned subsidiary of a Chinese multinational company in India getting ‘Indianised’, Bharti Enterprises, a diversified business conglomerate with interests in telecom, real estate, financial services and food processing among others, and the local arm of private equity major Warburg Pincus have announced to collectively own a 49% stake in Haier India, a subsidiary of the Haier Group which is headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Indian stock markets closed lower amid volatility, with key firms lagging as global trends influenced trading activity.
Bharti and Warburg Pincus invest in Haier India, acquiring a 49% stake to enhance growth and innovation in consumer durables.
India's net FDI remains negative for October 2025, with outflows surpassing inflows amid trade deal uncertainties.
Bombay High Court halts fraud notices to Anil Ambani, questioning banks' compliance and the audit's validity.