Tender bottlenecks apply brakes on India's electric bus transition

E-bus penetration witnesses minuscule increase last year despite subsidies

In 2024, India’s automotive sector came tantalisingly close to a major milestone: Electric vehicle sales surged to nearly 2 million, pushing EV penetration to 7.5 per cent from 6.4 per cent the previous year. But the sector’s progress wasn’t even – the electric bus (e-bus) segment lagged, despite claiming the lion’s share of government subsidies.

 

The sluggish adoption of e-buses, according to sector experts, underscores the complexities of shifting to greener public transport. They attribute the slow progress to delays in tender execution and bus deployment by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

 

Of the Rs 83,448 crore allocated under schemes like