PMI Electro Mobility is a leading electric bus manufacturer having two state of the art manufacturing plants in Dharuhera, Haryana. Besides manufacturing the electric buses in one of plants, we have all women battery plant to augment the existing requirement of electric buses.  Currently, we have over 1200 electric buses plying across 28 tier 1 and tier 2 cities of the country, and we are having the order book of another 2500 buses. We expect this number to grow considerably, as we aim at garnering fresh orders under the recently announced PM e-bus Sewa scheme, by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji which entails addition of 10,000 electric buses to facilitate electric mobility for Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities of the country.

Road transport presently accounts for 12 per cent of India's energy-related CO2 emissions and is a key contributor to urban air pollution and per kilometre, and an electric bus reduces about 2.4 kg of CO2 and till date with over 1200 PMI Electro e-buses account for 7 crore green kilometres and we are committed to adding a millions of green kilometres in times to come.

At the very outset, electric mobility can be classified into two categories, private mobility, such as passenger electric cars, electric two wheelers etc. and public mobility which includes electric taxis, electric buses etc. and PMI Electro operates in latter. Being the most sought after and dynamic industry, the Government continues to engage, understand to identify possible solutions to the concerns industry faces. Institutions like Convergence Energy Solutions (CESL) have been setup which release consolidated tenders; enabling e-bus manufacturers to bid for various tenders thus facilitating them to achieve best “economies of scale” in accordance to their manufacturing capacities. The Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model again is an industry friendly model, which saves State Transport Undertakings (STUs) from large capex purchase costs; and then again, the competitive bidding process, enables every bus manufacturer to bid as per their individual business capability. Another advantage for STUs is that they share requirements as per their individual state requirements. A major concern for the industry was “payment security”; which has also been addressed by the recently announced PM e-bus Sewa scheme for payment security system by the Union Government.

Technological advancements are an everyday process, which are included in every new batch of buses. Going back a couple of decades, one could not even think, of public intra-city buses in India being equipped with automatic transmission, air-conditioned, GPS systems, cameras etc. However, these are now a basic feature across the country. On the charging front, we need to shift EVs and E-buses charging to renewable sources of energy like solar, which will further help in reducing our carbon footprints. Initial steps in this direction have already been taken, with solar charging stations being installed in Leh. However, what we actually need is similar charging stations installed and utilised in each district of the country in line with PM e-Bus Sewa.

How is India facing electric vehicle charging infrastructure related challenges? Have you taken any initiative in that lead?

The biggest hurdle as we speak is the easy availability of adequate charging infrastructure. However, gradually, infrastructure is being put in place, to further push electric mobility. For commercial players like us, we are provided with space to set up our depots, where we install and commission charging stations. However, to further push green mobility, we need to set up solar charging infrastructure.

The scheme is slated to support eBus operations for a decade. The PM-eBus Sewa scheme aims to deploy 10,000 electric buses across India will take electric mobility to the grassroots level and boost localisation for industry players. Infrastructure and ecosystem are projected be upgraded in 181 cities under the green urban mobility initiatives at the total estimated cost pegged at Rs 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs 20,000 crore will be provided by the central government. As one of the leading players in the category, we shall leverage our abilities to apply and win tenders as they are announced.

We aim to developing innovative mobility solutions, bring technological advancements to the company's production capabilities and scale our operations, in the near future.

Further, as a company I believe on the three pillars of sustainability that, are crucial for our planet's future

Recently, PMI Electro has raised an investment of Rs 250 crore from Piramal Group's fund management business Piramal Alternatives for India’s green mobility initiative. Considering that there has been a surge in demand for the deployment of electric buses owing to the PM’s vision of net-zero emissions goals. The company intends to use the funds to further develop its solutions, bring technological advancements to its production capabilities, and scale its operations to bolster our green mobility initiatives.

With an order book of over 2,500 eBuses that is further expected to grow constantly going forward, the investment will greatly enhance PMI Electro Mobility’s technological capabilities and catapult our growth trajectory manifold.