India’s Electric Bus Revolution: Scaling EV Public Transport and Building a Strong Domestic Manufacturing Ecosystem

As winter approaches and smog thickens across Delhi NCR, EVs return to the spotlight nationally. India’s electric-bus story is moving from pilots to scale, policy-driven tenders and central schemes have pushed thousands of e-buses onto city routes in FY2024–25, fleet penetration is catching up with Europe however China stays far ahead. Over 6,500 new e-buses were registered in FY24–25 (Vahan data & OEM disclosures). In comparison, China added 80,000+ in 2024 (fleet >600,000) while Europe deployed ~6,000–7,000, led by the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Drivers: - Central/state programmes: FAME-II, PM-eBus Sewa, CESL tenders - Better total cost of ownership for high-mileage city routes - Air-quality and climate urgency

Hurdles: - Depot & grid readiness - High upfront capex, uneven financing - Lumpy procurement cycles, limited ops know-how Domestic e-bus manufacturing is scaling fast, top players like JBM Group led by Nishant Arya,Olectra Greentech Limited,Tata Motors,PMI Electro Mobility and Switch Mobility now localize key components and even exporting. There are some new ones like Neuton Auto led by Arathi K Parigi, they have developed designs suitable for Indian cities.VINFAST is another great example, they are one of the global EV leaders, including in the bus segment and have entered India with manufacturing of electric cars as a start. India’s clean mobility shift is also a manufacturing play, a great example being,Ador Powertron Limited led by Ravin MIRCHANDANI, making high quality fast chargers.

EV Charger

A shoutout to research leader like Aishwarya Kachhal, and teams at The International Council on Clean Transportation,RMI,World Resources Institute,The Climate Group,Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW),NITI Aayog,The World Bank, their work underpins India’s data-driven e-bus transition. The momentum is real but predictability will need financing innovation with long term payment solutions, grid upgrades, and open performance data between STUs, DISCOMs & OEMs.

Car Charging at EV Station

Thanks to the Macquarie Group,Abhishek Poddar, and the team, through Vertelo, they’re bringing much-needed financing solutions to India’s e-mobility market. But the ecosystem needs many more such initiatives. A special shoutout to Pramod Marar and the team at Satin Finserv Limited for driving electrification on the ground.