EKA Mobility, the Pune-based manufacturer of electric buses and e-small commercial vehicles (e-SCVs), which recently got a final tranche of capital infusion totaling to INR 1000 crore by Japan's Mitsui and Netherland's VDL Groep, is looking at a more than three-fold increase in its annual capacity for electric buses and e-SCVs as it seeks to feed the demand for electric buses coming from the various state transport undertakings under multiple government schemes.

As part of the plan, EKA is building a third facility in Pithampur, MP that will make both e-buses and e-SCVs. This will augment its total annual production capacity to 17,500 units from 4,800 units currently, by the end of next year, said Sudhir Mehta, chairman, EKA Mobility.

According to Mehta, India's electric bus market presents a huge opportunity and the recently cleared Payment Security Mechanism will help it take off. In September, the Union Cabinet cleared the PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme. With an outlay of 3,435.33 crore, the scheme will support the procurement and operation of over 38000 e-buses between FY204-25 to FY2028-29.