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NEW DELHI: JBM Auto Limited registered 157 electric buses across India in May 2026, securing a 49% national market share according to vehicle registration data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ Vahan portal. The total market registered 320 electric buses during the month, a sequential decline of 8% from the 347 units registered in April 2026 and a year-on-year drop of 9% from an estimated 352 units in May 2025. Switch Mobility the Ashok Leyland subsidiary, came in second at approximately 16% share, while PMI Electro Mobility Solutions held third position with exact figures unavailable in the compiled Vahan dataset. JBM Auto’s share in April 2026 had stood at 33%. The jump to 49% in a single month sent the company’s shares up 5.99% on the NSE on June 4, closing at Rs 708.15.
The percentage is striking but its interpretation requires context. Electric bus procurement in India is structured almost entirely around bulk Gross Cost Contract tenders issued by State Transport Undertakings and centralised through Convergence Energy Services Limited. Deliveries cluster into months when municipal fleet clearances align with administrative timelines. May 2026 reflected a concentrated registration cycle across Telangana, Gujarat and Delhi, while competitor deliveries from Olectra Greentech and Tata Motors experienced temporary scheduling pauses. That does not diminish JBM’s operational execution, but it does frame what a single-month registration figure can and cannot claim.
The Company Behind the Number
JBM Auto is the publicly listed flagship of the USD 3.0 billion JBM Group, incorporated in 1996 and headquartered in Gurugram. For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 the company reported consolidated revenues from operations of Rs 6,227.30 crore 11.26% year-on-year growth and a net profit after tax of Rs 238.07 crore. Its market capitalisation stood at approximately Rs 15,383 crore as of early June 2026. The company’s EV Business division formally renamed by its Board in May 2026 generated a standalone revenue of Rs 2,307.37 crore in FY2025-26, representing 42.71% of total standalone revenues. Critically the EV division earned a 15.7% EBITDA margin against the legacy auto component division’s 9.8% a gap that makes every incremental shift in the revenue mix financially meaningful.
JBM’s electric bus portfolio is built around two platforms: the EcoLife urban transit bus, available in 9-metre and 12-metre configurations and the Galaxy intercity coach. Both are manufactured at the company’s integrated production facility in Faridabad and Kosi within the NCR, which has an annual capacity of 20,000 buses claimed to be the largest dedicated integrated electric bus plant outside China. As of early 2026, capacity utilisation stood at approximately 15%, meaning JBM can absorb substantial order volumes without requiring new capital expenditure on physical plant. Its 11,000-unit order backlog is targeted for phased delivery over the next 18 to 24 months.
The Order Book and Its Policy Anchors
JBM’s backlog rests heavily on two central government schemes. Under PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme 1 the company secured 2,411 units worth approximately Rs 12,900 crore deployed across 19 cities. Under PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme 2 it secured an additional 1,021 units worth Rs 5,500 crore, with deliveries ongoing in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Haryana. The Delhi Transport Corporation remains JBM’s single largest municipal customer, with close to 1,000 EcoLife buses currently deployed in the capital. Gujarat accounts for an active fleet approaching 500 units. The Ahmedabad BRTS concession of 343 buses valued at Rs 1,800 crore and a 100-unit order from Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation add to the pipeline.
CESL’s most recent procurement rounds are shaping the next competitive cycle. Its January 2026 mega-tender covers 6,230 buses across major Indian cities including 3,330 dedicated to the DTC. The PM e-Bus Sewa Tender-3, launched April 22, 2026 covers 3,604 additional buses on a GCC basis with a submission deadline of June 5, 2026. The PM E-DRIVE scheme notified in September 2024 with a total outlay of Rs 10,900 crore through March 2028 allocates Rs 4,391 crore specifically for electric buses, with per-bus central subsidies ranging from Rs 20 lakh for smaller buses to Rs 35 lakh for 12-metre vehicles. These policy levers define the competitive terrain on which JBM’s backlog will be executed.
The Competitive Picture: A Market in Transition
India’s electric bus market is consolidating rapidly but the hierarchy is less settled than JBM’s May figure suggests. PMI Electro Mobility Solutions led the full calendar year 2025 by registration volume, with 1,041 units and a 23.4% annual share double its CY2024 figure. Under the PM E-DRIVE mega-tender of December 2025, PMI was the single largest winner with an allocation of 5,210 buses backed by a USD 310 million commitment from KKR, which is acquiring a majority stake in its operating platform Allfleet. Switch Mobility posted a 600% growth in CY2025 registrations turned profitable for the first time in FY26 with a PAT exceeding Rs 100 crore and completed India’s largest single electric bus export order 100 buses to Mauritius.
Olectra Greentech despite posting record FY26 revenues of Rs 2,312.17 crore and an order book exceeding 10,161 vehicles ran into execution turbulence in Q4 FY26 delivering 285 buses against guidance of 350 to 400 units partly due to 60 to 90-day payment delays from STUs in Maharashtra and Telangana. Tata Motors, which held a 39.2% annual market share in CY2024 registered only 223 electric buses in the full calendar year 2025 an 84% decline and secured zero allocations in the December 2025 PM E-DRIVE mega-tender. Its legacy FAME-II contract with CESL for 5,450 buses continues but its competitive positioning in new tender cycles has weakened measurably.
The Structural Headwinds That Data Alone Cannot Resolve
The broader market in which JBM operates faces genuine structural constraints. Electric buses are priced between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2.20 crore against Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for a conventional diesel bus. Battery packs represent 40% to 50% of that upfront cost. India’s dedicated depot charging infrastructure currently supports only 5,000 to 6,000 buses nationally the PM E-DRIVE scheme proposes installing only 1,800 fast chargers for buses nationally. Electric buses according to World Resources Institute studies, experience a 26% reduction in driving range over their operational life due to thermal degradation in Indian summer conditions forcing frequent midday opportunity charging that disrupts route schedules.
STU payment delays continue to stress cash flows for private concessionaires. JBM’s receivables risk is real it shares the industry’s working capital pressures. Simultaneously tender pricing under PM E-DRIVE has seen winning bids 5% to 15% below government-estimated tariffs squeezing operator margins. On a 10 to 12 year total cost of ownership basis electric buses are 15% to 20% cheaper per kilometre than diesel provided the vehicle runs more than 200 km daily for at least six years. However the upfront capital requirement and mid-lifecycle battery replacement cost of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 45 lakh remain real barriers for smaller STUs.
JBM Auto’s management has set a revenue run-rate target of Rs 6,500 crore for FY2026-27 and projects the EV division will account for 50% of consolidated revenues by year-end. Analyst price targets range from Rs 780 to Rs 884. Whether those targets hold will depend less on registration figures in any single month and more on how India resolves the charging infrastructure deficit the STU payment discipline question, and the financing gaps that make even well-priced electric buses difficult for state operators to procure at scale.
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