Olectra aims to supply 1,000 electric buses to Mumbai’s BEST by year-end

“The second order does not have any subsidy-related challenges. Deliveries have already started. and we have supplied a few buses so far. We are targeting close to 1,000 buses under the second tender by the end of the year,” Mahesh Babu, Managing Director and CEO, Olectra Greentech, told Financial Express. BEST has received 49 buses from the second order so far, sources tell us.

Resolving Delays

The first order, awarded in 2022 and valued at around ₹3,675 crore, initially saw deliveries begin in June 2022 before facing interruptions. Olectra has supplied 685 buses under the contract so far. According to the company, the project became entangled in legal proceedings for nearly three years before running into subsidy-related hurdles that have prevented further execution.

“The first order went through multiple legal challenges and later faced issues related to subsidy availability. We have informed BEST that supplies under that contract cannot continue until those issues are resolved,” Babu said.

Both orders have been awarded on a gross cost contract (GCC) or wet-lease basis, with Evey Trans Maharashtra and Evey Trans Mumbai acting as operators responsible for deploying and managing the buses.

Growing EV Fleet

Apart from Olectra, BEST currently runs electric buses manufactured by Tata Motors and also PMI mobility, all on GCC wet lease contracts. The undertaking is expected to get over 1,000 9 meter long electric buses from EKA mobility and another 450 from a different manufacturer, according to sources.

BEST current fleet stands at 2870 buses in total out of which 2,642 are on multiple wet lease contracts while 228 are owned by the undertaking.