Olectra-BYD rolls out its 100th electric bus in India

Olectra-BYD formerly (Goldstone Infratech) today claimed that it has became the first EV company in the country to cross the milestone of having over 100 electric buses commercially plying successfully on Indian roads.

The company says at present it has 108 electric buses plying in the country in Himachal Pradesh, Mumbai, Pune, Kerala and Telangana, which have clocked close to 600,000km that translates to the reduction of CO2 emissions up to 630 tonnes or equivalent to 3,143 trees required to handle that much of carbon emission.

With the company inducting 40 electric buses of 12-meter length, Olectra says it has enabled Telangana State Road Transport (TSRTC) to deploy the largest fleet of electric buses by any state transport unit in the country. This it says is also for the first time in the country that an electric bus of 12-meter length has been deployed commercially for public transport service. These buses were launched from the Miyapur Depot in the presence of Sunil Sharma, principal secretary for Transport, Roads & Buildings and MD, TSRTC; Liu Xueliang, MD, BYD India and BYD Asia Pacific; NK Rawal, MD, Olectra; Ketsu Zhang, executive director, BYD and N Nagasatyam, executive director, Olectra India amongst other senior officials from TSRTC, Olectra -BYD.

Commenting on the announcement, Rawal said, “Olectra-BYD has been in the forefront of the sustainable mobility revolution. This milestone of crossing over 100 Electric Buses in the country is a tremendously significant development. ”

The company says the 40 electric buses in Telangana will ferry passengers to Hyderabad International Airport from various locations in the city, with an average of 10 trips (one side) being made at the points daily, and ferry around 470,000 passengers on monthly basis. In addition to these, 25 Olectra eBuzz K7 (9-meter) buses have also started commercial operations in Pune as well last month.

“BYD is committed globally to promote electric vehicles to address environment concerns. We are happy to see government of India rolling out FAME II to encourage electric mobility in India. BYD’s advanced technology in battery, electric motor and electric control – the three core components to any electric vehicle – and its reach and successful operation experience in 50 countries and regions and over 300 global cities, has proven the electric public transportation solution is ideal for India,” commented Xueliang.

The OEM says the department of Heavy Industries, government of India has sanctioned incentives for roll out of these 40 electric buses by TSRTC under FAME scheme. Only last week, the government announced FAME II scheme with an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore to incentivise the adoption of EVs in the country including 7,000 electric buses over three years. It will give a much-needed boost to the ecosystem and enable more STUs to deploy eBuses in their fleet.

Wake Hirotoshi, senior advisor, BYD Japan, said, “Adherence to quality is utmost importance to ensure the superior offering that deliver on all parameters of performance. We are bringing BYD’s global quality standards to Olectra."

Also read: FAME India Phase II outlay of Rs 10,000 crore gets government approval