JBM Solaris to invest Rs 300 for making electric buses in India

New Delhi: JBM Solaris, a joint venture between JBM Auto and Polish automotive major Solaris Bus & Coach SA, will invest Rs 300 crore for making India's first 100 percent electric buses Ecolife in the country. The JV will make the investment towards engineering, design and development, manufacturing, supply chain development among other focus areas in this electric mobility project completely made in India. Ecolife was unveiled at Auto Expo in February this year by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping.

The key focus will be towards locally developing indigenous sources for all key aggregates, systems and components catering to domestic and global requirements. Solaris will bring in its domain strength in electric buses, while JBM Auto will provide it in-house engineering and design expertise, market know-how along with the manufacturing facilities and infrastructure. Production of Ecolife will start by Q4 of FY 16-17 at Kosi, Uttar Pradesh. Incorporating variants of 9 and 12 meters, JBM Solaris will further work towards indigenously bringing in the complete range of buses in further phases.

Nishant Arya, executive director, JBM Group, said, "Our association with Solaris Bus comes in as a just in time move towards developing green solutions that will transform the public transportation domain in India. This JV between JBM Auto and Solaris Bus perfectly aligns with the government's vision to make India a 100-percent electric vehicle nation by 2030. JBM Solaris is committed to contribute substantially towards this vision in the area of public mobility vehicles."

Dr Andreas Strecker, CEO, Solaris Bus & Coach, said, "We have supplied mass transportation solutions to more than 30 countries all over the world and we are extremely excited to partner with JBM Group. This joint venture is a very important step for Solaris Bus and will ensure introduction of our proven technology in electric vehicles. JBM and Solaris together are set to revolutionise public transportation in India with Ecolife using globally proven and affordable technology."

Ecolife is a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) as it is powered by lithium batteries, which are fast charging and runs upto 200 kms daily for city bus operation. This vehicle can also run on plug-in charging. The electric bus technology is adaptable to the city bus operation depending on demographic and geographic conditions. 

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.