JBM Ecolife Mobility, a subsidiary of Indian bus maker JBM Auto, has raised $100 million (€85 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to accelerate the rollout of electric buses across the country. IFC, part of the World Bank Group, said this is its largest investment in an Indian e-bus deployment project.
The funding will support the introduction of air-conditioned electric buses in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Assam, with the latter two deployments awarded under the government’s PM-eBus Sewa Scheme.
For the first time, JBM Ecolife Mobility will use the scheme’s Payment Security Mechanism, which provides operators with safeguards against potential payment defaults by transport authorities.
The company expects the program to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.6 billion kilograms, save over 600 million litres of diesel, create more than 5,500 jobs, and provide services to over a billion passengers during the project’s tenure. India has about two million buses on its roads, and the government is targeting 40% electrification of the segment by 2030.
JBM Ecolife Mobility already operates electric buses in several major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat and Hyderabad, and plans to expand its fleet to more than 6,500 units by 2027.
Its parent company, JBM Auto, has delivered more than 2,500 e-buses across ten states and 15 airports, with an order backlog of 11,000 units. The company also entered Europe earlier this year, unveiling its Eco-Life e12 electric bus in Germany, with deliveries expected to start in early 2026.