Switch Mobility, JBM among 6 firms to supply 6,465 electric buses

Winners of 1st tender declared; Delhi gets highest 3,980

Six original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have been selected to supply 6,465 electric buses under the country’s first e-bus tender of the National E-Bus Programme (NEBP).

Ashok Leyland’s Switch Mobility, global giant JBM Group, Maharashtra-based Greencell Mobility, Intact Transport, Pinnacle Mobility, and PMI Electro (in consortium with Greencell Mobility and Intact Transport) have been announced as the winning bidders. The tender, invited by state-owned Convergence Energy Services (CESL), was finalised on January 2.

According to the data shared by CESL, the lowest price discovered for a 12-metre bus (intra-city) was Rs 54.3 per kilometre (km), and 12-metre bus (intercity) was Rs 39.8/km. For a nine-metre bus, the price discovered was Rs 54.46/km and a 7-metre bus was Rs 61.92/km. The price does not include subsidy.

These bidding prices are higher than previous e-bus tender under the Grand Challenge’ conducted by CESL. For the 12-metre bus (intra-city) bus the L1 bid saw an increase of 11 per cent. The increase was about 17 per cent for the 12-metre AC bus (intra-city). For the nine-metre standard floor AC bus, the bid prices increased by more than 9 per cent.

According to the bid result details, e-buses would be supplied to six states — Delhi (3,980), Telangana (1,000), Haryana (550), Kerala (750), Gujarat (150), and Arunachal Pradesh (10).

Under the contract, apart from procuring, operating, and maintaining buses the service providers (OEM or a consortium of OEM and bus service providers) also have to develop allied electric and civil infrastructure on a gross cost contract (GCC) basis. 

NEBP was launched in July 2022 to induce electric mobility in the state-owned transport undertakings across India. CESL floated the tender under NEBP in September 2022 to procure 5,690 e-buses, which was later amended to 6,465 in November 2022, after the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation requested for 775 additional e-buses.

Before the launch of NEBP, CESL had issued a Grand Challenge of e-buses in January 2022 for procurement of 5,585 buses (5,450 single-deckers and 130 double-deckers).

For the second phase of NEBP, the state transport units will dry-lease 4,675 e-buses from the service providers on a monthly rental. The bid for the second phase started on January 4 and will conclude on February 20. 

CESL is a subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services, a joint venture of four public sector power utilities — NTPC, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation, and Power Grid Corporation of India.