On Thursday, the travel booking platform EaseMyTrip.com announced it was entering into the electric bus manufacturer business through its subsidiary, Easy Green Mobility.

According to a company statement, Easy Green Mobility will electric buses with YoloBus — another subsidiary of EaseMyTrip — which will serve as an operating arm.

EaseMyTrip said it is investing ₹200 crore ($23.8 million) for extensive R&D, product development and setting up a manufacturing plant over two to three years.

The statement said that Easy Green Mobility will build the plant with a capacity of 4,000-5,000 buses in the initial phase and ramp up production capacity in the future.

“The current market dynamics present a significant opportunity to enhance the supply and meet the growing demand for electric buses by localizing production and creating a fully ‘Make-In-India’ product,” said Rikant Pittie, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, in a statement.

Riding the Wave

The Indian electric bus market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24 percent from 2024 to 2030, and this move aligns with the company’s vision to capture a significant share of the evolving market and capitalize on the growing demand for electric vehicles in India.

Pittie added that the government has been encouraging the adoption of electric buses through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Scheme and state-level policies and performance-linked incentives.

Launched in 2015, the FAME 1 Scheme focused on creating demand for EVs and supporting pilot projects.

The FAME 2 Scheme, on the other hand, started in 2019 with a budget of ₹10,000 crore. It aimed to support 10 lakh electric two-wheelers, 5 lakh electric three-wheelers, 55,000 passenger cars and 7,000 electric buses.

The statement further said that the company would prioritize manufacturing vehicles with advanced technology and energy-efficient battery systems designed to support long-range travel on a single charge.

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