JBM Electric Vehicles (JBMEV) has entered into a strategic partnership with electric commercial vehicle leasing platform Drivn to deploy 500 electric luxury buses across India, marking a significant step towards expanding the country’s zero-emission public mobility ecosystem. The collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of electric commercial transportation by combining advanced electric bus technology with integrated financing, maintenance and charging solutions.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), JBM EV will supply 500 technologically advanced electric buses in a phased rollout over the next year. The initial deployment will focus on luxury intercity coaches operated by fleet companies, supported through a comprehensive leasing model that includes long-term vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance and charging infrastructure. The partnership is designed to help fleet operators transition to electric mobility without substantial upfront capital investment while simplifying vehicle ownership and lifecycle management.
Beyond intercity transportation, both companies will also explore opportunities in school transportation, employee mobility and airport transit services, broadening the scope of electric mobility solutions across multiple commercial segments.
Commenting on the partnership, Nishant Arya, Chairman, JBM Electric Vehicles, said, “India witnessed a growth of 40% in e-bus registrations in H1 CY2026 with 2,944 bus registrations across various states under the PM E-Bus Sewa and PM E-Drive schemes. This partnership with Drivn comes in at an opportune time aptly complimenting the growing momentum in India’s e-bus deployment. At JBMEV, we believe that the transition to clean mobility must be both scalable and financially viable. By integrating our advanced electric bus technology with Drivn’s innovative leasing and financing platform, this partnership is designed to unlock scalable adoption of e-mobility by addressing capital barriers and enabling a more sustainable, asset-light transition for fleet operators, corporates amongst others. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to building a future-ready, zero-emission mobility ecosystem while advancing India’s decarbonisation agenda.”
Sharing a similar outlook, Alpna Jain, Co-founder and Chief Business Officer, Drivn, said, “Commercial fleet electrification requires an ecosystem that makes the transition both operationally seamless and financially viable. Our partnership with JBM Electric Vehicles combines technology leadership, EV ecosystem solutions and manufacturing excellence with an integrated leasing model to help fleet operators adopt electric buses with greater ease and confidence. By bringing together financing, fleet support and charging solutions, we are building a scalable pathway for accelerating commercial EV adoption across India.”
JBM Electric Vehicles has been at the forefront of electric bus manufacturing since introducing its e-buses in 2018. The company has deployed more than 3,500 electric buses globally and expects this figure to surpass 5,000 over the next year. As part of its commitment to achieving Net Zero 2040 and delivering on its 3 billion e-kilometres vision, JBM’s electric bus fleet has already covered over 450 million electric kilometres while serving more than 1.5 billion passengers worldwide.
The partnership with Drivn further strengthens JBM EV’s efforts to build a scalable, sustainable and financially accessible electric mobility ecosystem, supporting India’s ongoing transition towards cleaner public transportation and reduced carbon emissions.