BYD-Olectra, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland in fray to supply, operate 1,200 e-buses
NEW DELHI : BYD-Olectra, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and PMI Electro Mobility Solutions are among manufacturers in the fray to supply and operate about 1,200 electric buses for different state departments, people aware of the development have said.
State transport utilities have floated, or are in the process of floating, tenders for about 5,500 electric buses, and out of these bids for about 1,200 buses have been opened so far, sources said.
Chinese automobile maker BYDbacked Olectra is eyeing e-bus tenders in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha, and is the lone bidder in Uttarakhand and Jaipur, while top domestic player Tata Motors has bid for tenders issued by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, sources said.
Haryana-based PMI Electro Mobility Solutions, which has a technical tieup with Chinese commercial vehicle maker Beiqi Foton Motors, is in the fray for Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat tenders. Ashok Leyland has bid for bus supply tender only in Gujarat, sources said.
Gurgaon-based JBM Auto is also actively pursuing tenders in Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra, another person aware of the matter said.
Some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), however, have chosen to stay away from these tenders since they do not want to enter into the operator’s segment, which some of the states are demanding from manufacturers, industry insiders said.
The Centre had approved subsidy for procurement of 5,595 electric buses by various state utilities across the country under phase II of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (& Hybrid) Vehicles (Fame).
Of these, 5,095 electric buses have been sanctioned for 64 cities, 400 buses for interstate transport, and 100 buses for deployment by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
The largest number of buses have been sanctioned for Maharashtra at 725, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 600. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have been allocated subsidy for deployment of 550 and 525 electric buses, respectively. Cities of Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad have received accord for 300 electric buses each.
Delhi has floated tenders for 100 electric buses, and Gujarat for 200 buses. Rajasthan has floated tenders for 100 buses to ply in Jaipur, the sources said.
Uttar Pradesh has sought bids for 600 electric buses proposed to be deployed in Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Agra, Varanasi, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur and Shahjahanpur.
Source : economictimes
