Gurugram (Haryana) [India]: Electric buses are expected to account for 8 to 10 per cent of new sales by 2025 and be at the forefront of India’s electrification drive, according to rating agency ICRA. Various schemes conducive to adoption of electric vehicles including FAME-II scheme by the Ministry of Heavy Industries have contributed immensely in advancing the e-bus segment despite pandemic-induced stress, it said. FAME-II has planned a significant outlay of Rs 3,500 crore towards adoption of e-buses. State electric vehicle policies too offer significant incentives and subsidies to reduce cost of acquisition and spur e-bus adoption. States have announced specific electrification targets and timelines for e-buses thus helping to create a roadmap for electrification. The gross-cost contract model of operations has emerged as the preferred route for e-bus adoption, said ICRA. Globally, China dominates the e-bus market accounting for 98 per cent of the global fleet. India, like China, can utilise localised and evolving battery technology to cut capital costs for faster e-bus adoption, said ICRA. “Among the various automotive segments, buses would be among the first ones witnessing faster electrification especially for intra-city operations aided by favourable cost economics,” said ICRA Vice President Rohan Kanwar Gupta.
