Olectra Greentech to build 2,400 electric buses for Mumbai

The Mumbai-based client is Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), the Indian metropolis’ public transport operator. According to Indian media reports, BEST has signed a contract with Olectra Greentech to lease 2,400 electric buses from the manufacturer over twelve years and to commission Olectra Greentech with their maintenance. BEST will procure a further 250 electric buses from another as yet unnamed manufacturer.

Details of the Olectra bus model are not available. The Times of India, for example, merely states that the buses will be twelve metres long and will be delivered to the metropolis of Mumbai, which has a population of around 27 million, within one and a half years. The report puts the order value at the equivalent of 446 million euros.

It is not the first major order from Mumbai for Olectra Greentech: BEST had already ordered 2,100 electric buses from Olectra Greentech in 2022. The fact that the Indian manufacturer is able to provide more than two thousand buses within 18 months is probably also thanks to its technology partner BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric buses. BYD has been building electric buses in India with the MEIL Group since 2013; Olectra Greentech is part of the latter group.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com, thehindubusinessline.com, olectra.com