JBM Ecolife Secures $100M to Expand India’s E-Bus Fleet

15 Sep 2025 CW Team

JBM Ecolife Mobility, a subsidiary of JBM Auto, has raised $100 million in long-term capital investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand its electric bus operations across India.

The funding will enable the purchase and operation of 1,455 modern, air-conditioned electric buses in Maharashtra, Assam, and Gujarat. This represents IFC’s first capital investment in the e-bus sector in Asia and its largest globally.

“This initiative marks the strategic start of further collaborations to accelerate e-bus deployment with enhanced scale and efficiency,” said Nishant Arya, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of JBM Auto. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6 billion kilograms, save over 600 million litres of diesel, create 5,500 jobs, and serve more than one billion passengers over its operational tenure.

Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of IFC, added: “E-mobility is the future, and we are making it real through investments in leaders like JBM. Together, we are setting benchmarks for sustainable, resilient, and globally replicable urban transport.”

The Maharashtra and Assam projects, tendered under the Pradhan Mantri e-Bus Sewa Scheme, will also introduce a Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) to mitigate payment risks faced by state transport undertakings, enhancing the bankability of future e-bus initiatives.

Buses account for nearly three-quarters of public transport trips in India, with around two million vehicles currently on the roads. The government targets 40 per cent e-bus penetration by FY30. JBM has already deployed over 2,500 e-buses across ten states and 15 airports, covering more than 200 million electric kilometres and serving one billion passengers. Its Delhi-NCR facility, among the world’s largest dedicated e-bus plants outside China, has an annual capacity of 20,000 units.

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