A 35-acre site, situated five kilometers from the centre of Valladolid, will be transformed into a manufacturing and R&D hub for Switch Mobility’s electric buses and light commercial vehicles
Switch Mobility has confirmed its new manufacturing and technology centre will be built on a greenfield site in the Soto de Medinilla area of Valladolid. The 140,000m2 site, situated within convenient reach of the centre of Valladolid, has been selected from a number of suitable locations within the Castilla y Leon Region. The company said that the location benefits from strong infrastructure links by road and will enable it to develop the facility in several phases, starting with bus production and Research & Development. The site is also well situated to take advantage of the strong automotive supply base within the region.
With construction due to commence shortly, Switch Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Andy Palmer was joined by Eva Driessen, President of Switch Iberia and members of the Executive Team, to plant several trees on site to celebrate the announcement. These are the first of 2,000 trees Switch will plant in Spain over the coming year – one for every direct job it expects to create at the new manufacturing and technology centre – in support of the company’s commitment to sustainability. Switch said that the new facility will be entirely carbon neutral throughout the construction process and continue to operate at a carbon neutral level once vehicle production begins.
Andy said: “We are delighted to have selected Valladolid as the location for our first manufacturing site in continental Europe. The region’s wealth of quality engineers and strong supply chain, combined with Spain’s desire to be a leader in electric buses, make the Soto De Medinella area the perfect location. This new facility will provide us with crucial access to the European bus and light commercial vehicle market.
“Since announcing our plans to invest in Castilla y León, we have been overwhelmed by the level of interest in the project and I would like to thank Reyes Maroto Illera, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, Oscar Puente and their respective teams, who have worked tirelessly to secure this site for Switch. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, which have resulted in the ground-breaking ceremony being postponed until 18 March, we look forward to commencing construction imminently and seeing our first buses in production within the next 12 months.”
Switch’s new manufacturing and technical centre will house production of its first electric bus designed specifically for the European market. The new 12-metre product will build on the existing technology that Switch has employed in its zero-emission buses around the world. The firm delivered its first British-built electric buses to Transport for London in 2014.
Utilising the latest NMC battery technology, bespoke data analytics systems and lightweight construction methodology, Switch says its new product will optimise the total cost of ownership for local authorities and operators, enabling the decarbonisation of cities and key routes across Europe. Further details on Switch’s new electric bus are expected to be announced early in the second quarter of this year.
