JBM to deliver 500 electric buses in India under leasing-focused partnership with DRIVN

Indian manufacturer JBM announces it has signed an agreement with DRIVN to supply 500 electric buses in India.

JBM Electric Vehicles has entered into a memorandum of understanding with electric commercial vehicle leasing platform DRIVN for the supply of 500 electric buses, with deployment scheduled over the next year.

2,944 electric buses were registered in the country during the first half of 2026, a 40% increase year-on-year. Switch Mobility led the market with 830 registrations (28.2%), while JBM Auto Limited ranked second with 635 units (21.6%). Including registrations under JBM Electric Vehicles Pvt Ltd, the JBM Group recorded a combined 804 electric bus registrations in H1 2026, representing a 27.3% market share and placing it close to the market leader.

JBM has just unveiled the next-generation GALAXY electric luxury coach at Prawaas 5.0 in Gandhinagar. In June 2026 JBM Ecolife Mobility announced it has secured a ₹750 crore investment (approximately €70 million / US$80 million) to support the deployment of around 2,000 electric buses across India, while in 2025 it got a $100 million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). JBM has ambitious goals in Europe: the group unveiled the Ecolife e-bus at UITP Summit 2025, while opening European headquarters in Frankfurt.

JBM – DRIVN: deployment of 500 electric buses across India

Under the agreement, JBMEV will deliver 500 electric buses equipped with onboard systems and features intended for intercity transport applications. The rollout is planned in phases, beginning with luxury intercity coach operations across multiple fleet operators in India.

The buses will be deployed through a model that combines vehicle supply with long-term leasing and financing solutions. The integrated structure includes maintenance services and charging infrastructure support as part of the overall offering. According to the companies, this framework is designed to enable fleet operators to access electric buses without upfront capital expenditure while incorporating lifecycle management services.

The scope of the collaboration also includes potential expansion into additional use cases such as school transport, employee mobility and airport transit services.

Integrated leasing and ecosystem model for fleet electrification

The partnership combines JBM’s manufacturing and electric bus portfolio with DRIVN’s leasing platform, which includes asset ownership, financing, and operational support. DRIVN’s model incorporates charging infrastructure planning, battery lifecycle management and fleet operations within a single platform.

JBM reports that its electric bus portfolio, introduced in 2018, currently exceeds 3,500 units deployed globally. The company states that cumulative operations have reached 450 million electric kilometres, serving 1.5 billion passengers. Production capacity is based at its manufacturing facility in the Delhi-NCR region, with an annual capacity of 20,000 units.

The company indicates that its deployed fleet is expected to exceed 5,000 units within the next year.

In brief

• What is the agreement about? JBM Electric Vehicles will supply 500 electric buses to DRIVN under a leasing-based model.
• When will the buses be deployed? Deployment is planned in phases over the next year.
• Which segments are targeted? Initial focus is on intercity luxury coaches, with possible expansion to school, staff and airport transport.
• What services are included? Financing, maintenance and charging infrastructure are part of the integrated offering.

Nishant Arya, Chairman, JBM Electric Vehicles, said: “India witnessed a growth of 40% in e-bus registrations in H1 CY2026 with 2,944 bus registrations across various states under the PM E-Bus Sewa and PM E-Drive schemes. This partnership with DRIVN comes in at an opportune time aptly complimenting the growing momentum in India’s e-bus deployment. At JBMEV, we believe that the transition to clean mobility must be both scalable and financially viable. By integrating our advanced electric bus technology with DRIVN’s innovative leasing and financing platform, this partnership is designed to unlock scalable adoption of e-mobility by addressing capital barriers and enabling a more sustainable, asset-light transition for fleet operators, corporates amongst others. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to building a future-ready, zero-emission mobility ecosystem while advancing India’s decarbonisation agenda.”

Alpna Jain, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer, DRIVN, said: “Commercial fleet electrification requires an ecosystem that makes the transition both operationally seamless and financially viable. Our partnership with JBM Electric Vehicles combines technology leadership, EV ecosystem solutions and manufacturing excellence with an integrated leasing model to help fleet operators adopt electric buses with greater ease and confidence. By bringing together financing, fleet support and charging solutions, we are building a scalable pathway for accelerating commercial EV adoption across India.”