Arya’s EV Drive Hits Pay Dirt

IN 2023, JBM AUTO participated in Busworld Europe in Brussels, the world’s largest bus and coach B2B exhibition, and launched two electric models — luxury coach ‘Galaxy’ and city bus ‘ECOLIFE’. The company says these models have lightweight stainless steel monocoque chassis and advanced technologies such as intelligent transport systems and telematics.

Over the last decade, the auto parts manufacturer has evolved to make buses and is creating an entire electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. The idea to enter buses came from one of the first major decisions of Nishant Arya, vice chairman, JBM Group and managing director, JBM Auto — acquiring an Italian engineering design company specialising in sports cars, high-end materials and commercial vehicles. “India did not have a bus player. It had truck makers making buses as they wanted to use truck chassis for other applications,” he says. The company started making buses in 2013 with Italian technology partner BredaMenarinibus and launched its first ultra-low floor bus in 2014.

Since then, the 38-year old, who trained in Germany, France, Italy, Japan and U.K. at the beginning of his career, has led diversification into EVs, charging infrastructure, batteries, renewables and more. In FY24, revenue from OEM division, which manufactures electric buses, tripled to ₹1,741.21 crore (35% of total) compared to ₹549.74 crore in FY23 (about 13% of revenue).

Overall, JBM Auto has three main business divisions — auto components systems, which makes parts for commercial and passenger vehicles and farm equipment; OEM, which makes and runs electric buses; and tools, which makes tools, dies and moulds. The company has 16 subsidiaries, of which two are listed.

EV Ecosystem

JBM Auto’s EV ecosystem has four verticals — EVs, lithium batteries and power electronics, charging infrastructure and electric mobility. It is boosting investments across segments as this ecosystem evolves and grows.

In 2023, JBM Auto set up an integrated EV ecosystem and electric bus manufacturing facility with a capacity of 20,000 e-buses and special purpose vehicles in Palwal, Haryana. In FY25, JBM Electric Vehicles, a subsidiary, signed an agreement with MUON India under which it will deploy over 2,000 electric buses at the Macquarie Group company over next few years. Another subsidiary, JBM Ecolife Mobility, got a contract from Convergence Energy Services Ltd. as part of the PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme to operate 1,390 e-buses. The company also set up a manufacturing facility focused on advanced lithium-ion battery solutions for high voltage/low-voltage battery-operated vehicles, energy storage systems and solar in 2020. The same year, it launched its electric platform integrating EVs, battery technology, charging technology, software, hardware and firmware on one platform. “That gave us huge capability, competence and bandwidth,” says Arya. JBM Auto has multiple innovation centres and test labs. The company, which has presence in 37 countries, has set up engineering design centres in Germany, too.

These steps are helping it deliver products faster and differentiate itself from competition. “A majority of players focus on slow or medium charging speed. We talk about minutes. Plus, we try to launch products in 12-15 months. Our customers get customised products in the shortest time because everything is in-house,” says Arya.

Arya, who attended Bradford University, U.K., and London School of Economics, also forayed into renewables about a decade ago with ground mounted solar projects. “We are doing energy storage solutions, hybrid projects and green gas projects,” he says.

Overall, the company aims to capitalise on growth in the EV market, which is expected to touch $120 billion by 2030, from $34.8 billion in 2024, according to Mordor Intelligence.

A Strong Core

JBM was founded by S.K. Arya in 1983 as a manufacturer of LPG cylinders. In 1986, it formed a joint venture with Maruti Suzuki, Jay Bharat Maruti Ltd. (JBML, part of the JBM Group) and started making auto components for India’s largest carmaker. Today, its auto components business makes a range of products, including chassis, suspension systems, pedal boxes, tubular products, safety-critical components and various assemblies.

The auto component business continues to be the biggest contributor accounting for 60% revenue. In FY24, JBM Auto posted a 30% jump in net revenue from operations to ₹5,009.35 crore. In FY23, the auto component business contributed ₹3,050 crore, an all-time high. Last fiscal, it added Case Construction as a customer for export of components to U.S., started exporting to South Korea and U.S. and ramped up capacity for key clients like Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle division. It also expanded capacity of the tooling division by 25%. Arya says the business is powertrain-agnostic with strong presence across passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, farm equipment and construction equipment. This year, the company plans to focus on electric/hybrid vehicles, making lightweight and advanced materials and increasing global footprint, says its latest annual report.

Innovation And Future

According to Arya, innovation and R&D, especially in battery technology, are key. “Battery is the heart of the vehicle and we are focused on high energy density batteries and ultra fast charging technologies,” he says. A part of R&D is also focused on alternative lighter materials with higher lifespan, as well as technologies like regenerative braking.

The company expects demand for electric buses from state transport undertakings and other customers to be about 150,000 by 2030 and expects to maintain its market share.

Arya expects the company, which exports to Australia, Singapore, UAE, Europe and different parts of Africa, to capitalise on green capital globally. In September, it raised $100 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Arya says the company will work with ADB in Haryana and Odisha. “They are keen to work with us across the country because we are not positioned as an electric bus manufacturer for them. We are way beyond that since we are bringing the whole JBM EV ecosystem and focusing on creating a long-term roadmap where we are consistently the leaders with 35-40% market share,” he says.