DRIVN plans ₹900-crore intercity EV push: 500 buses from JBM, 100 with Purple

Commercial EV leasing platform DRIVN will finance the acquisition and deployment of 600 electric buses through partnerships with JBM Electric Vehicles and Purple Bus, creating an estimated ₹900-crore pipeline as it seeks to remove the upfront-capital barrier slowing the electrification of India’s intercity transport market.

The programme comprises 500 buses to be procured from JBM and another 100 to be deployed with Purple. At an average price of ₹1.5 crore, the JBM order is estimated at ₹750 crore and the Purple fleet at ₹150 crore. The value could vary as Purple is considering 12- and 13.5-metre buses costing ₹1.4-1.65 crore, depending on their configuration.

“The success of commercial electric mobility depends on bringing together manufacturing, operations, technology and financing,” Alpna Jain, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer of DRIVN, told businessline.

“With 600 buses planned under these two partnerships, we are creating a connected model where financing, charging infrastructure and fleet performance are aligned with real operational data rather than projections,” she added.

DRIVN will acquire and own the vehicles before leasing them to operators under long-term arrangements. Its model combines vehicle financing with charging-infrastructure planning, maintenance, fleet monitoring and battery lifecycle management, allowing operators to expand without committing substantial upfront capital.

Purple Mobility Director Saurabh Patwardhan said the 100 buses would provide the scale required to build charging infrastructure, understand the technology and stabilise unit economics.

“The transition to electric buses requires a fundamentally different financing approach from conventional ICE fleets. Our partnership with DRIVN gives us access to timely, scalable capital, which is critical for building route density and expanding our EV operations profitably across India,” Patwardhan told businessline.

Purple, which operates more than 1,200 vehicles across 85 cities, expects the first buses to be deployed next month. It has signed a letter of intent with Switch Mobility for around 40 buses to be drawn down over six months and is evaluating JBM and VE Commercial Vehicles for subsequent batches.

Around 60-70 per cent of the fleet will be seaters, with sleeper and sleeper-seater configurations accounting for the balance. The buses will initially operate on eight to 10 routes of less than 350 km, allowing them to complete schedules without intermediate charging. Purple expects the fleet to undertake 150 daily schedules.

It plans to expand its intercity electric fleet to 400-500 buses over the next two to three years. Purple has identified 52 potential routes that could eventually support 700-750 buses.

Each electric bus is expected to generate annual revenue of ₹1.30-1.35 crore, adding ₹130-135 crore to Purple’s revenue after 100 buses are deployed. Profitability, however, will depend on utilisation, electricity costs, lease rentals, maintenance and battery performance.

DRIVN’s JBM agreement covers the deployment of 500 buses across India over the next year, initially focusing on luxury intercity coaches before potentially expanding into employee mobility, school transportation and airport transit.

“By integrating our advanced electric-bus technology with DRIVN’s leasing and financing platform, the partnership is designed to address capital barriers and enable a more sustainable, asset-light transition for fleet operators and corporates,” JBM Electric Vehicles Chairman Nishant Arya said.

JBM offers intercity, city, staff and school buses and says its integrated Delhi-NCR manufacturing facility has annual capacity of 20,000 buses.

Separately, intercity mobility platform zingbus has signed agreements with 50 regional operators to facilitate the deployment of more than 200 zingbus Maxx and electric buses over the next 12 months, strengthening its presence across South and West India.

The 200-plus target covers both pre...