Volvo India to bid in govt’s e-bus programme, says company chief

The company whose 65% turnover comes from trucks and 5-7% from buses is bullish on investments into both the bus business as well as charging infrastructure for EVs.

To push India’s ambitious green mobility plans,  the centre on Wednesday had approved a scheme for 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities across India. Following this, Kamal Bali President & Managing Director at Volvo Group, India confirmed that the company will participate once bids open for tenders from private parties under the said scheme. 

“We have two brands - Volvo and Eicher. We will see which brand will participate in the same. We already have some products on the electric
side in Eicher,” Bali told DH in an exclusive interaction on the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry summit on Thursday. 

The company whose 65 per cent turnover comes from trucks and 5-7 per cent from buses is bullish on investments into both the bus business as well as charging infrastructure for EVs. “We have big plans. We are setting up our charging infrastructure in Europe in partnership with Daimler Trucks and the Traton Group. We are in the process of similar plans for India,” Bali said, not revealing further details. 

“So as far as freight decarbonisation is concerned, I think there will be three tools in the box that will have to be used to really tackle this huge energy transition problem,” explained Bali.

While battery-operated vehicles are a better option for short-haul travel including distribution trucks, for long-haul transport hydrogen fuel cells are more suitable, suggested K Dhandayuthapani, associate vice president at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles.  Another option is biofuels which can be used on the existing IC engines.

In the Union Budget 2023, a budget allocation of Rs 35,000 crore has been earmarked for crucial capital investments to achieve energy transition and net zero targets by 2070. With decarbonisation as the target, electrification is fast evolving to touch all modes of transportation.

Industry bodies want to increase the share of EV sales to 30 per cent in private cars, 70 per cent in commercial vehicles, 40 per cent in buses, and 80 per cent in two-wheelers and three-wheelers by 2030. So far, the plans to electrify public transportation have been plagued with a lack of infrastructure and financial investments 

Other automobile industry experts at the event echoed Bali’s statements.

“Going forward the market will be segregated not on the basis of tonnage (of trucks) but based on requirement - which application makes sense of a particular freight movement including the cost parameter,” said K Subramanian, Senior Vice President, Product Development, Ashok  Leyland.

Infrastructure and policy intervention stood out as key concerns amongst stakeholders, alongside the need for bringing affordability. 

“We still do not have a FAME policy for heavy-duty commercial vehicles which can be a game changer,” said Dhandayuthapani. Others like Bali also wanted the government to continue the cluster approach, alongside creating automotive centres of excellence to boost the right skills and ecosystem.