Olectra-BYD, an electric vehicle maker, has deployed 10 commercial grade electric buses in collaboration with the state’s road transport corporation to take pilgrims to the Sabarimala shrine, located in the southern state of Kerala

With this, Olectra-BYD it has reportedly become the first company to deploy electric buses in Kerala in this capacity.

“We are sure that like other states, our 10 buses will repeat the success in Kerala as well. The eBuzz K7 has already proved its reliability as it has been successfully plying at a high altitude and steep gradient of 13,000 feet in Himachal Pradesh,” stated N Naga Satyam, Executive Director of Olectra Greentech.

These electric buses have been manufactured in India by Olectra Greentech which has a strategic partnership with BYD Auto Industry Co. Ltd. of China.

Recently, Kerala announced its Electric Vehicle Policy (EVP) and has put up ambitious targets for the full electrification of all classes of motor vehicles by 2030. It includes bringing one million EVs on the road by 2022 and creating a pilot fleet of 200,000 two-wheelers, 50,000 three-wheelers, 1,000 goods carriers, 3000 buses and 100 ferry boats by 2020.

Under this early adoption support scheme, an incentive of ₹30,000 (~$406) or 25 percent of the EV (whichever is lower) for three wheelers will be provided for an initial period of one year.

In the recent past, Karnataka and Maharashtra also launched their own EV policies that provide various subsidies and incentives to consumers. EV market in India is slowly gaining momentum after three years of relative inaction. However, India still lags far behind other nations when it comes to EVs.

Mercom has reported that electric vehicle sales so far have been inconsistent under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) program. According to data by the Department of Heavy Industries’ official website, Maharashtra is the leaders when it comes to the number of vehicles sold under the FAME scheme.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer