Olectra Greentech Targets 1,200 Electric Bus Deliveries Per Quarter

Olectra Sets Higher Electric Bus Delivery Target

Olectra Greentech electric bus deliveries are set to rise sharply as the manufacturer targets a significantly higher quarterly volume in FY28. The company delivered 358 vehicles in the latest quarter and plans to build deliveries progressively over the coming quarters. Mahesh Babu, Managing Director of Olectra Greentech, said, “We can reach up to 600 vehicles per month in the next one to one-and-a-half years — that’s our target,”. He added that the company wants to deliver more than 600 vehicles across the next two quarters, followed by 700-800 vehicles in the subsequent two quarters, before reaching about 1,200 vehicles per quarter in the next financial year.

The planned volume increase comes against an order book of more than 8,000 electric buses. Olectra Greentech expects to deliver around 2,000-2,500 vehicles during FY27, although the actual pace will depend partly on customer readiness and supporting infrastructure. Babu said, “In the next two-quarter period, we want to deliver about 600-plus vehicles. Then in the following two quarters, we want to go to about 700-800 vehicles, and the ultimate aim is to reach about 1,200 vehicles per quarter in the next financial year,” he said. The target indicates a phased increase rather than an immediate jump in production or market deliveries.

Supply Chain And Infrastructure Remain Key Constraints

Olectra does not regard manufacturing capacity as the main obstacle to expanding electric bus deliveries. The company instead identifies supply-chain availability and the market’s ability to absorb new vehicles as key constraints. Babu said, “The challenge is not production — it’s supply chain, and also absorption in the market,”. For electric buses, deployment requires several operational elements to become ready together. Depot preparation, electricity availability and deployment schedules can determine when completed buses can actually begin service, making ecosystem readiness as important as factory capacity for converting the order book into operating vehicles.

The company highlighted the timing gap that can emerge between infrastructure preparation and vehicle deployment. Babu said, “If you look at e-bus adoption, depot readiness and flag-off happen suddenly, and then there is a gap, so that is a challenge,”. He also said, “Production capacity is only one piece of the puzzle. In EV, you have to look at the whole ecosystem. When the ecosystem is ready to absorb, we are ready to deliver from production.” This means faster execution will depend on coordinated progress across tendering, depots, power availability, infrastructure preparation, customer readiness and vehicle production.

Based on the existing order book, Olectra Greentech expects approximately 2,000-2,500 vehicles to be delivered during FY27. Babu indicated that stronger market absorption could allow the company to raise that number, but government tendering and infrastructure readiness remain important variables. He said, “The government tendering process, depot readiness, power availability and infrastructure preparation all take time,”. The company’s delivery outlook therefore depends on more than the number of buses it can manufacture. Converting awarded orders into operating fleets requires customers, public agencies and infrastructure providers to move through their respective preparation stages at a pace that supports vehicle deployment.

Electric Bus Adoption Continues To Increase

The underlying electric bus market is also showing stronger adoption, according to Olectra. Babu said EV penetration in the bus segment reached close to 7% during the quarter, compared with around 4.7-5% last year. He described the trend as improving quarter on quarter and year on year, indicating a gradual increase in electric bus uptake. Olectra Greentech has also crossed 4,000 cumulative electric vehicle deliveries, expanding the number of vehicles operating in the field. Rising segment penetration and a growing installed fleet provide a supportive market backdrop as the company seeks to increase deliveries over the next several quarters.

Profitability Remains Central To Order Strategy

Alongside its volume ambitions, Olectra is maintaining a strong focus on order profitability. The company recently secured around 1,085 buses under the PM E-Drive programme, but Babu said its strategy is to pursue contracts only when the economics remain sustainable. He said, “We want only profitable business,”. He added, “We are not interested in taking orders just for the sake of valuation.” The approach means the company may deliberately avoid contracts where pricing is considered too aggressive, even if those orders could increase reported volumes or market share. Profitability therefore remains a central filter in its bidding strategy.

Babu said aggressive bidding has already influenced Olectra’s order wins. He said, “Some of the numbers being quoted in the market are very aggressive, which is why we are not winning some orders — the orders we do win, we are profitable on,” he said. Financial performance during the quarter also reflected the company’s broader investment and operating structure. Revenue reached around Rs 575 crore, representing a 66% increase, while EBITDA rose around 30%. The difference between revenue and EBITDA growth highlights the impact of cost pressures and investment-related expenses even as electric bus operations continue to scale.

Investment Costs And Energy Division Affect Earnings

The company said much of the EBITDA impact came from its energy division rather than the electric bus business. Polymer prices increased around 70% during the quarter, affecting the polymer insulator operation, while the bus division experienced only a marginal impact on contribution. Higher depreciation and finance costs linked to investments also affected PBT and PAT. Babu said, “The plant which we productionized in Q4 of last year — the EMIs and finance costs came in this quarter,”. He added, “It’s basically a strong delivery for this quarter, and building for the future, and hence investments and depreciation play a role.”

The delivery target consequently depends on a combination of manufacturing readiness, supply-chain execution and market absorption. Olectra Greentech has the order book and production capability needed to pursue higher volumes, but the timing of deployments will remain influenced by depot readiness, power availability, government tendering and supporting infrastructure. The company’s strategy also places profitability ahead of volume for its contracted business, limiting its willingness to participate in aggressively priced tenders. If ecosystem readiness improves alongside demand, Olectra could accelerate execution of its existing pipeline and move toward the higher quarterly delivery levels targeted for FY28.

Frequently Asked Questions

What electric bus delivery target has Olectra Greentech set for FY28?
Olectra Greentech is targeting approximately 1,200 electric buses per quarter in FY28 as part of a phased increase in deliveries over the coming periods. The company currently has an order book exceeding 8,000 electric buses and expects to deliver around 2,000-2,500 vehicles during FY27. Before reaching its FY28 target, management expects deliveries to move above 600 vehicles across two quarters and then increase toward 700-800 vehicles in the following two quarters. The pace will depend on customer readiness, infrastructure preparation, supply chains and market absorption.

What is limiting Olectra’s electric bus delivery growth?
Olectra says production capacity is not the principal constraint on higher electric bus deliveries, with supply-chain execution and market absorption presenting larger challenges. Electric bus deployment requires depot readiness, adequate power availability, infrastructure preparation and coordination with customers and government tendering processes. These elements can create a gap between vehicle production and actual deployment. Management therefore views the wider EV ecosystem as critical to accelerating deliveries. Faster preparation of depots, electricity infrastructure and deployment plans could allow the company to execute its order book more quickly while maintaining its focus on profitable contracts.