Urban Transport Infrastructure November 2018 Urban Transport Infra November 2018 | Page 50

Interview
market will be there (for e-buses). So
even if they take 25% (of its new
fleet), there will be (a demand for)
around 100,000 electric buses. In ICE
(vehicles), there are a lot of moving
parts whereas in electric buses there
are less moving parts so that takes
care of maintenance and other issues
actually. The prices of electric buses
are bound to come down because the
major component in an electric bus is
the lithium-ion battery, which will
see a cost correction. So by March
2021, we
want to have a (per annum) capacity
of 5,000 electric buses. We have
already done Rs. 80 crore for the first
phase of investment and (for) the
second phase of (capacity creation of)
1,500 units we are spending roughly
Rs. 500 crore. We will build future
facilities as and when it is required.
We are also trying to build an
ecosystem and are talking to a lot of
companies for that. As per FAME
guidelines, we need to do 35% local
sourcing and are fully compliant with
that. What I have read is that the
govt is looking for enhanced local
content and we have to keep
ourselves ready for those kind of
requirements. We are even ready to
share some of the key components’
manufacturing practices with those
who can help us develop the
ecosystem. They don’t need to be
with us and could be company
agnostic. Once this ecosystem
develops, they can cater to a whole
lot of market (other OEMs). What
happens is with that we have a lot of
benefits
in
terms
of
local
employment, faster sourcing of
components, cost reduction, etc. In
fact, we are having very high hopes
on ISRO, which has come out with an
EOI to share its lithium-ion battery
technology (with) those who want to
manufacture it.
Can you tell us the number of jobs that
will be generated directly and
indirectly from both the plants?
Mr. Satyam: At least 800 people will
be employed at both the facilities.
One thing you need to understand
that once these buses are deployed at
service stations, you will have direct
and indirect employment where these
service teams are based. Second thing
is we are also trying to source a lot
of
material locally for charging
infrastructure.
Even that is (a
generator) of an indirect employment
WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM
Photo: www.goldstoneebus.com
Do you look forward to expand your
presence in other cities like Delhi,
Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, etc?
Mr. Satyam: Actually, we will try to
go for competitive bidding in every
city whichever comes out with
electric
mobility
in
public
transportation. But we cannot be
reckless in bidding. Any prices should
be sustainable in the long run. You
cannot bid just to win every bid. We
cannot afford to underquote. That is
not our policy. What I offer is a
luxury city bus wherein we offer an
experience (to the passengers). It is
like a metro kind of experience on
Road. So we want to give a real
luxury experience. This is the only
way to bring back people towards
public transportation. So apart from
being comfortable, there is no noise or
air pollution in our buses. Since we
don’t compromise on luxury, our
prices will obviously remain higher.
Will you be looking forward to export
your products too?
Mr. Satyam: We are aggressively
working towards gaining a foothold in
export markets such as all the
SAARC
nations
from
India’s
manufacturing facilities only. We
are looking at countries like Nepal,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc. Even if 2-
3% of the output is exported from
India, it will be a great contribution
(by BYD).
Will you be also interested to foray
into inter-city & other bus segments?
Mr. Satyam: At present, we have
three products- a 12-metre AC low-
floor bus, which is the largest selling
one, a 9-metre standard floor and a 7-
50
metres
bus
used
for
feeder
connectivity.
see a lot of potential
Photo: We
www.goldstoneebus.com
for feeder electric buses. We also look
forward to cater to corporates and
schools who use buses to ferry
passengers. We are also thinking of
foraying
into
inter-city
electric
buses. But we are yet to freeze the
specifications for the same. We are
working on those coaches which can ply
between the routes like Delhi-Jaipur,
etc.
***
#Interview Credit: Avishek Banerjee
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Urban Transport Infrastructure | November 2018