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Andy Palmer’s bumpy ride: from supercars to battery buses

The man formerly known for his role at Aston Martin is leading a drive to make bus maker Switch, and the whole UK industry, a major force in electric vehicles

When Andy Palmer left school at 15 to become an apprentice draughtsman – helping design car gearboxes – he quickly caught the automotive bug.

“By the age of 21, when I came out of my apprenticeship, I wanted to be the CEO of a car company, which was extraordinarily arrogant,” he recalls as we talk in a London hotel restaurant. Four decades on, he made it, taking over in 2014 as chief executive of one of the UK’s truly world-famous brands: Aston Martin, sports car maker to James Bond.

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