BYD Backed Olectra Greentech Wins Bid for 100 E-Buses

The BYD partnered electric buses (E-buses) maker Olectra Greentech announced on Monday that along with its sister company Evey Trans Pvt Ltd, it has won the bid for 100 electric buses.

The consortium of both the companies has won the bid to supply 100 electric buses to a  State Transport Corporation (STC) in the country under the Government of India’s FAME-II scheme, on Gross Cost Contract (GCC) or OPEX model basis for 12 years. These 100 electric buses are going to be used for inter-city operations. Olectra Greentech and Evey Trans were declared as the L-1 (least quoted) bidder out of all the bidders who participated in the bidding process.

As Olectra says, the cost of this tender is approximately Rs 250 crore to the company. Furthermore, Evey will obtain these 100 electric buses from Olectra Greentech Ltd and deliver them over 10 months of time.

Electric mobility has been in focus since the launch of the FAME-II started in April 2019, and it will be completed by March 31, 2022. States from all over the country have been bringing in new policies and benefiting incentives and subsidies on the electric vehicle (EV) purchase in their region.

Although, states have been deploying heavy electric vehicles under FAME-II, for instance, Goa has added 50 ‘Make in India’ electric buses from Kadamba Transport under the FAME II Scheme in March 2021. Interestingly, those electric buses were deployed by Olectra Greentech Limited.

Similarly, in the same month, Karnataka also floated a tender for procurement, operation, and maintenance of 50 electric buses on the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model under the FAME-II scheme.

According to a report by WRI India, 12 states in India stand out for their EV policies which can support and nurture an EV transition in the country including, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Most of these states have pushed for EV adoption as well as EV manufacturing with a combination of subsidies and tax exemptions on EV purchases.

However, actual progress on the ground seems to have been badly hit, with states like Delhi, Himachal, and more still awaiting their electric buses after delays caused due to tendering issues as well as supply glitches.