Government To Stay Proactive With PM E-Bus Sewa Scheme Despite Election, Says JBM Auto MD
The government has so far tendered for 2,000 buses to the industry, of which the company has secured orders for 1,390 buses, he said
The government will continue to remain proactive and push forward with electric bus tenders despite the election, according to JBM Auto Ltd. Managing Director Nishant Arya.
The company had recently won a contract worth Rs 7,500 crore for the procurement, supply, and operation of 1,390 electric buses under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, according to an exchange filing.
The execution of the order would be done over the next 12–18 months, and deliveries would start in the fourth quarter of FY25 and extend till the first half of FY26, Arya told NDTV Profit in an interview.
The electric buses will be supplied across 20 cities in Maharashtra and Assam, the managing director said.
Under the PM E-Bus Sewa Scheme, the government aims to augment bus operations by deploying 10,000 electric buses on the PPP model.
The government has so far tendered for 2,000 buses to the industry, of which the company has secured orders for 1,390 buses, Arya said. Apart from this, the company will also be responsible for setting up the charging and downstream infrastructure, he said.
He doesn't see any challenges in the charging infrastructure for these buses, as each bus has a specified parking location.
Current Order Book and New Facility
The major part of the company's current order book of 5,000 buses is for e-buses, Arya said.
Of which the company has roughly delivered 1,500 buses so far in FY24, he said. Now, with the fresh order for 1,390 buses, the order book of the company again roughly stands at 5,000 vehicles.
The company has inaugurated a new facility that can assemble 20,000 e-buses as of 2023, he said. This would help pickup the utilisation over the next two years with newer orders, he added.
Revenue Guidance
In the next fiscal, the company expects similar growth in topline as it has seen in the current financial year, the managing director said. That comes to an upward of 30%, taking the company's guidance to Rs 5,000 crore in revenue for FY24, with Ebitda margins at around 12%.
Expansion and Fund Raise
Arya does not see the need for any extra capacity expansion for the next three years. Neither is the company looking towards rising funds via equity, he said, though any short-term needs would be met through debt.
Going Ahead
Electric buses will be the largest portion of all the buses sold by the company, according to Arya, who believes that in the long term, it would be cheaper to purchase electric buses instead of diesel.
As the coach and intercity market evolves slowly, Arya said the charging infrastructure should be in place over the next two to three years.