EKA Mobility to deliver 50 e-buses to MBMC and UMC in Maharashtra over next few weeks

EKA Mobility expects to roll out an initial order of 50 e-buses to Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar municipal corporations over the next few weeks. The order of these buses was secured back in July 2023.

EKA Mobility, a prominent electric bus manufacturer in India, expects to start the delivery of 50 electric buses to Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar municipal corporations over the next few weeks according to its founder and chairman Sudhir Mehta.

In July this year, EKA Mobility secured a contract to supply 57 e-buses to Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC). These buses are expected to reduce 33,704 tonnes of carbon emissions compared to diesel buses which translates to planting 1,02,134 trees.

MBMC and UMC are the governing bodies of Mira-Bhayandar and Ulhasnagar, respectively, in Maharashtra. MBMC aims to encourage environmentally friendly alternatives in the state by introducing 57 electric buses.

The founder and chairman of EKA Mobility - Sudhir Mehta said, “Currently, we have an order book of close to 650 e-buses. We are also entering the electric last-mile delivery vehicles segment with a range of e-LCVs that are designed to meet the specific needs of urban logistics, offering a balance between payload capacity, range, and cost efficiency. Our objective with both our product categories (e-buses and e-LCVs) has been simple, to make sustainability more profitable.”

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India has witnessed a hike in demand for e-buses in 2023 according to Sudhir Mehta. Comparing the sales of e-buses, he said that Europe has sold approximately 4,000 units while India had sold 4,830 units of e-buses by the end of October this year. These numbers indicate the efforts and preference of the Indian government to promote eco-friendly and sustainable public transportation in the country.

EKA aims to manufacture e-buses with Indian-made components which is not 100% feasible right now according to Mehta. The company receives battery cells from international markets as the supply chain in India is still in development.

EKA has ventured into hydrogen fuel cell technology with Pune based h2e. The company is also entering the last mile mobility industry in India with a range of more sustainable and profitable e-LCVs.