EV maker Eka plans production in line with infra readiness

Mumbai: Electric vehicle maker Eka Mobility is aligning production of its buses with the readiness of charging infrastructure, as delays in setting up power connections and charging facilities at depots hold up deliveries, chairman Sudhir Mehta said.

The Pune-based company said it could deliver only about 2,000 electric buses over the next two years from an order book of about 11,000.

After an order is placed, depot infrastructure typically takes about a year to be ready, as state transport undertakings need to hand over land and operators must arrange electricity connections, charging equipment and upgrades to transmission capacity, he said.


"Production is not so much a constraint; the depot infrastructure is the constraint," Mehta told ET, adding that the company now plans production according to the availability of depots.

The government, he said, should separate depot development from bus procurement and invite tenders for charging infrastructure before ordering vehicles. Transport authorities should plan their requirements over five to 10 years, allowing infrastructure to be ready before buses are inducted, Mehta said.