Ashok Leyland has clarified that it attempted to participate in the PM E DRIVE electric buses tender opened on November 14 but could not complete the submission due to a technical issue in the e tendering system. The company confirmed that OHM Global Private Ltd, its fully owned subsidiary, had applied for the tender and has since contacted the authorities to address the problem.
The tender covers the procurement of 10900 electric buses under Phase I of the PM E DRIVE scheme. It was launched on June 27, 2025 for five cities including Bengaluru Hyderabad Surat Ahmedabad and Delhi with the aim of accelerating the use of electric buses for public transport. The Ministry of Heavy Industries has allocated 4391 crore rupees from the total scheme outlay of 10900 crore rupees for this phase.
Convergence Energy Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, concluded the tender process on November 14. The ministry plans to support 14028 electric buses under the scheme. Several major companies such as Tata Motors JBM PMI Pinnacle Greencell Volvo Eicher and EVEY Trans participated in the bidding.
There were earlier reports suggesting that Ashok Leyland did not take part due to inadequate capacity to fulfil the demand. The company has denied this and stated that it has more than sufficient manufacturing capacity for current and future electric bus requirements. It also confirmed that the necessary capacity certificate was prepared and uploaded as part of the documentation.
A senior official from the ministry said the tender is one of the largest of its kind and required significant technical financial and operational planning. The official added that some cities and state transport undertakings requested changes to lot sizes, bus types and depot details during the bidding process, which led to an extension to encourage wider participation and enhance competition.
The tender is viewed as a major step toward the national goals of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and moving closer to energy independence by 2047.
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