10,900 e-buses Deployed Under PM E-DRIVE In Five Cities
Post the expiry of the FAME-II scheme, the government introduced the PM E-DRIVE Scheme in FY25 with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore for the deployment of e-buses and establishment of charging infrastructure
Chennai: Under the initial phase of the PM E-DRIVE scheme, 10,900 electric buses have been deployed in five cities. Though the share of e-buses is expected to more than double in two years, e-bus deliveries are slower due to supply chain bottlenecks.
Post the expiry of the FAME-II scheme, the government introduced the PM E-DRIVE Scheme in FY25 with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore for the deployment of e-buses and establishment of charging infrastructure. The scheme subsidises up to Rs 10,000/kWh, which is capped at Rs 35 lakh on the purchase of electric buses for state transport undertakings (STUs).
In the initial phase, 10,900 buses were deployed and of this 41 per cent went to Bangalore, 25.69 per cent to Delhi, 18.35 per cent to Hyderabad, 9.17 per cent Ahmedabad and 5.5 per cent to Surat.
At present, e-bus deployment is largely confined to a few cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The government plans to expand e-bus presence in tier-2 and tier-3 cities gradually. The scope for e-bus deployment will increase manifold.
The top five OEMs together hold an order book of more than 25,000 e-buses to be delivered over the next one-to-two years. However, e-bus deliveries in India have been slower than expected, primarily due to supply chain bottlenecks, including dependence on imports for some of the critical components and essential minerals. Major OEMs have reported shortages of key components such as batteries, chassis, and powertrains, many of which are imported, causing delays in production. Additionally, the lack of alternate indigenous suppliers of crucial parts further constrains the ability to fulfil large orders quickly. India is developing local manufacturing capacities for batteries, with significant investments coming in. But it could take some time.
The e-bus industry currently has a penetration of 5 per cent compared to over 60 per cent in China. According to India Ratings, the share of electric buses (e-buses) in overall new bus sales in India could increase to 10-12 per cent by FY27 from 5 per cent in FY25.
