Causis E-Mobility seeks ₹1,400 crore funds for fulfilling 700 e-double decker bus order

Mumbai, India (Urban Transport News): Causis E-Mobility is looking for Rs 1400 crore funding from banks to fulfill an order for supply 700 e-double decker buses to Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST). "The BEST project needs upfront investment of around Rs1,800 crore.," said Ravi Kumar Panga, CEO, CAUSIS E-Mobility Private Limited. 

"With the delivery deadlines approaching, the company is in advanced stages of discussions with a consortium of banks. As the negotiations progress, the lenders have mandated that Causis E-Mobility must provide approximately 25-30 percent as equity funding. "Because this money will be needed over time as deliveries take place, I am confident that the Indian debt market will respond positively," he added.

In February this year, Causis e-mobility and Switch Mobility were the leading companies offering e-double buses at rates of Rs 56.40 and Rs 62.40 per kilometre on Gross Cost Contract (GCC) basis respectively. Later on, Switch Mobility lowered its offering to match that of Causis e-mobility.  E-way Trans and Sri Translink India were the other players which participated in the bidding process. 

In a further development, Causis E-Mobility announced that it has received approval from the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to operate its EuraBus in its jurisdiction. The company has received a Letter of Award (LoA) for the procurement and maintenance of 107 fully built 9-metre, midi, pure electric AC/Non-AC buses with drivers and allied electrical and civil infrastructure on a wet lease model basis for a period of twelve years.

Even as the order books for EV buses continue to pour in, the ramp of e-bus production to 4,000 units by CY23 with activation of new production plants in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, CAUSIS will supply the first lot of Double Decker buses from the Jaipur plant and the remainder from the new facility being constructed in Pune. The production capacity of the Jaipur plant is around 1,000 units.

The EV manufacturer had in October last year signed an MoU with Maharashtra Government to establish an electric vehicle manufacturing unit near the auto belt of Talegaon in Pune, with an estimated investment of Rs 2,800 crore. The facility that will create 1,250 jobs is expected to be operational within 15 months, shadds  Panga. 

Concurrently, in phase 2, the company intends to build its own gigafactory for production of EV batteries. There are plans in place to establish an e-bus manufacturing facility in Kopparthi, Andhra Pradesh. Both Pune and Kopparthi plants will have a production capacity of 1500 e-buses each. "So, roughly, the company's vehicle capacity will be 4,000 units by December 2023." said Panga. 

Maharashtra's comprehensive EV Policy 2021 aims to see EVs contribute nearly 10 percent of new vehicle registrations – or 300,000 EVs – a year by 2022. It has also set a target for six urban cities -- Mumbai, Pune. Nagpur, Aurangabad. Amravati and Nashik -- to achieve 25 percent electrification of public transport and last-mile delivery vehicles by 2025. The policy comprises three direct incentives for demand, supply and charging infrastructure. There are also non-fiscal incentives for developing skilled manpower to support the transition to EVs across the state.

The government also plans to aggressively development EV charging infrastructure, estimated at around 2,500 charging stations, in seven major urban agglomerates (Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Amravati and Solapur) and 4 major highways which includes Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Nagpur and Pune-Nashik.