JBM Electric Vehicles (P) Ltd. (JBMEV), a subsidiary of JBM Auto Limited, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Drivn, an electric commercial vehicle leasing platform, to supply 500 electric buses.
Under the agreement, JBMEV will deliver the buses in phases over the next year, with the initial rollout focused on luxury intercity coaches for fleet operators across India. The offering will include long-term vehicle financing, maintenance and charging infrastructure support, intended to let operators adopt electric buses without large upfront capital costs. The two companies said they would also explore other segments, including school transportation, employee mobility and airport transit services.
Nishant Arya, Chairman of JBM Electric Vehicles, said e-bus registrations in India grew 40% in the first half of calendar year 2026, with 2,944 buses registered under government schemes including PM E-Bus Sewa and PM E-Drive. He said the partnership with Drivn was aimed at making the shift to electric buses more financially viable for fleet operators by combining JBMEV's manufacturing base with Drivn's leasing and financing platform.
Alpna Jain, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer of Drivn, said the partnership was designed to make fleet electrification "operationally seamless and financially viable" by combining technology, leasing and charging support.
JBM has been manufacturing electric buses since 2018 and has deployed more than 3,500 e-buses to date, a number it expects to cross 5,000 within a year. The company said its buses have collectively covered 450 million electric kilometres and carried 1.5 billion passengers worldwide, as part of a stated goal of 3 billion electric kilometres.
Drivn, which describes itself as building financial infrastructure for commercial electric mobility in India, acquires, owns and leases electric buses and trucks and offers an integrated technology stack covering charging planning, battery lifecycle management and fleet operations. The company works across sectors including intercity transport, logistics, e-commerce, cement and steel, and is backed by institutional investors.