Commercial Vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland, part of the Hinduja Group announced a strategic partnership with SUN Mobility to develop electric mobility solutions on a global scale. SUN Mobility, promoted by Chetan Maini (founder of Reva) and Uday Khemka, Vice Chairman of SUN Group, will be working together in developing innovations and engineering solutions for the mass electric vehicle usage. With SUN Mobility's support, Ashok Leyland aims to bring a new range of electric products to the domestic market.
Ashok Leyland has been manufacturing electric buses, hybrid buses, in both CNG as well as diesel options as well as those that do not require a plug-in. The company also produces light commercial vehicles for Indian and export markets. On the other hand, SUN Mobility aims to revolutionise the transportation sector with an open-architecture ecosystem built around the company's smart batteries and a network of quick interchange of battery stations. The company plans to make these recharge stations draw power from renewable energy, which will help refuel electric vehicles at lower cost than conventional diesel and petrol pumps.
Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Leyland - CEO & Managing Director Vinod K. Dasari said, "Today's partnership with Sun Mobility is yet another step towards bringing world class solutions to India, developed in India, and by Indians. We are proud of this partnership and hope to bring several new innovative products to the market at the earliest."
SUN Mobility - Vice Chairman, Chetan Maini said, "With this partnership, SUN Mobility hopes to create a strategic alliance in the area of mass electric mobility by deploying market-leading integrated ecosystem comprising Ashok Leyland's state-of-the art electric vehicles and our proprietary smart batteries along with a network of quick interchange battery stations. This partnership will help the nation move masses via an efficient, pollution-free and cost-competitive solution for electric mobility."
Furthermore, SUN Mobility said that it will partner with multiple OEMs to integrate the company's proprietary smart battery solution into a range of electric vehicles including cars, buses, rickshaws, scooters and more. The smart batteries will be modular, easily swappable, highly secure, IOT enabled and can be easily refueled on a pay-as-you go basis. More details on the plans of the alliance are expected to be announced sometime later in the year.
