JBM Bets on Scale, Exports and Fast Charging to Defend Electric Bus Lead

India’s electric bus market may still be at a relatively early stage compared to China, but the sector is beginning to show signs of moving beyond pilot projects and subsidy-driven deployments into a more scalable and commercially viable phase. For JBM, that transition is already underway.

Nishant Arya believes the company is well positioned to maintain its leadership in the domestic bus market after emerging as India’s largest busmaker last fiscal. Backed by a growing order pipeline, expanding customer categories and increasing global traction, the company is preparing for what it sees as the next major growth phase for electric public mobility.

“We would be looking at maintaining our position because whether with respect to product portfolio or our capacity or our business at large, we are very well positioned,” Arya said, adding that the company’s experience across the ecosystem gives it confidence about future execution.

The optimism comes at a time when electric buses are increasingly becoming central to state transport electrification programmes, airport mobility, staff transportation and private fleet operations. While adoption levels remain far lower than electric two- and three-wheelers, the scale of investments and manufacturing being built around the segment suggests that OEMs are preparing for significantly higher volumes in the coming years.

Scale, Capacity and Execution

One of the strongest indicators of that confidence is JBM’s current order book. According to Arya, the company currently has orders for close to 10,000 buses across different categories and applications.

The demand is not limited to state-run city bus operations alone. JBM says traction is visible across coaches, airport transport, staff mobility and school bus segments as fleet operators increasingly explore electrification opportunities.

“Across cities, across private customers, for coaches, airport vehicles, staff buses, school buses, there is a huge amount of traction,” Arya said.

The company is also relying heavily on manufacturing scale as a competitive advantage. Arya said JBM’s manufacturing facility currently has annual capacity of around 20,000 buses, which he described as the largest bus manufacturing capacity outside China.

That scale could become increasingly important as India’s electric bus market expands over the next decade. Industry participants have repeatedly pointed out that while electric bus demand exists, the challenge often lies in execution capability, charging ecosystem readiness, financing structures and supply chain localisation.

For bus manufacturers, the transition is also more capital intensive than smaller EV segments because of higher battery sizes, infrastructure requirements and fleet integration needs. As a result, players with large manufacturing capacities and integrated ecosystem partnerships are expected to have an advantage as deployments scale up.

JBM’s comments also suggest that the company sees the market gradually shifting from a subsidy-led narrative to a more operational economics-driven model.

The Road to Mass Adoption

Arya drew parallels between the electric bus transition and the rise of electric three-wheelers in India. Electric three-wheelers became one of the earliest success stories in India’s EV transition journey, crossing roughly 50 percent penetration within a relatively short period.

JBM now expects electric buses to eventually move in the same direction. “Electric buses would have 50-60 percent market share by early 2030s, clearly,” Arya said.

According to him, one of the key reasons behind that confidence is improving total cost of ownership economics. He argued that electric buses are increasingly becoming commercially viable without requiring viability gap funding support for operations.

“Given the TCO, there is no viability gap funding required for running electric buses,” he said.

That marks an important shift in the sector’s narrative. In the early years of India’s electric bus push, adoption was heavily linked to government incentives and procurement support. However, falling battery costs, improving operational efficiencies and better charging ecosystems are beginning to alter the economics.

Charging Conversation Also Evolving.

China’s electric bus market scaled rapidly partly due to aggressive charging infrastructure development, including flash charging technologies for larger vehicles. India, however, has largely followed a different route focused on practical deployment models and gradual infrastructure evolution.

Arya said JBM already offers ultra-fast charging capabilities that can charge buses within 30 minutes to one hour, depending on battery size and application.

At the same time, he believes India’s operating environment differs significantly from China’s.

“Indian roads, Indian climatic conditions are different than China,” he said, while adding that current charging approaches are suited to the market’s present requirements.

Still, the company expects future advances in battery technology, charging systems, high-voltage architectures and power electronics to significantly reshape the segment over time.

Those developments could become particularly important as operators demand longer range, lower downtime and better fleet utilisation economics.

Beyond India

While India remains central to JBM’s strategy, the company is also seeing growing international traction for its electric mobility business.

Arya said the company is witnessing interest from markets across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Central America and South America.

The global push is significant because several emerging markets are now entering phases similar to India’s early electric bus transition, where governments and fleet operators are beginning to evaluate large-scale electrification programmes for public transport.

Indian manufacturers are increasingly viewing this as an export opportunity, particularly as domestic localisation improves and manufacturing capacities rise.

Unlike passenger vehicle exports, electric buses also allow Indian OEMs to position themselves as integrated mobility solution providers with capabilities spanning vehicles, charging infrastructure and fleet support systems.

Asked whether JBM could become bigger outside India over the next five years, Arya indicated that the company is pursuing growth on both fronts simultaneously.

“No, I think JBM would be big inside India and outside India,” he said.

The broader ambition reflects how Indian electric bus manufacturers are beginning to think beyond domestic procurement cycles and positioning themselves within the larger global clean mobility transition.

For now, however, the immediate focus remains execution. With nearly 10,000 buses in its order pipeline and manufacturing scale already in place, JBM’s next challenge will be converting that scale into sustained leadership as India’s electric bus market enters what could be its most defining decade yet