EKA's $2 billion bus book, ₹2,000 crore capex fuel push into trucks, six-seaters

Sudhir Mehta targets ₹2,800 crore in combined FY27 revenue as EKA Mobility expands manufacturing, electric freight and rural mobility operations

Backed by an 11,000-bus order book valued at nearly $2 billion, including servicing, EKA Mobility plans ₹2,000 crore in capital expenditure over three years to expand electric bus, heavy truck, and six-seater manufacturing. In a conversation with businessline, chairman Sudhir Mehta said it is targeting ₹2,800 crore in combined FY27 revenue across EKA and Pinnacle Industries, betting on electric freight and affordable rural transport to drive the next phase of growth.

Here are the edited excerpts from his interview with businessline:

Pinnacle recorded ₹200 crore in revenue a decade ago. You now target ₹2,800 crore across Pinnacle and EKA. How have the businesses evolved?

Pinnacle is a separate company manufacturing automotive seating systems, bus interiors and specialty vehicles, including ambulances. We supply components to other vehicle manufacturers and expect around ₹800 crore in revenue this year.

I am always happy when somebody wins a bus tender because we also supply components to other manufacturers.

At EKA, we are targeting ₹2,000 crore, against approximately ₹600 crore last year. Buses gave us manufacturing scale and service infrastructure. Small commercial vehicles helped establish our dealer network. The third phase, which I believe will be even bigger, is heavy electric trucks.

EKA's vehicle volumes rose 13.4 times to 1,786 in April-September from 133 a year earlier. How will the $2-billion bus book translate into revenue?

We have orders for 11,000 buses. Including vehicles and long-term servicing, the value is almost $2 billion.

The orders are there. We are matching production with depot readiness. Revenue could shift by two or three months depending on infrastructure availability.

We are targeting $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

What infrastructure are you building to deliver these buses and support them over their operating lives?

We have 20 operational depots and another 80 expected over 18 months. We expect to be present in 45 cities.

Our service contracts run for 12 years. We maintain buses, supply parts and support uptime. Charging infrastructure is provided by the concessionaires operating the buses.

We are achieving over 99 per cent uptime. In Mira-Bhayandar, one of our buses carries more than 800 passengers daily.

Why do you believe six-seater electric vehicles can transform rural transport?

Our ambition is to provide safe, affordable mobility in every village. Around 2,000 six-seaters are already on the road.

They cost approximately 50 paise per kilometre to operate, travel around 18 kilometres on one unit of electricity and charge through a normal 16-ampere socket.

We have 75 operational dealer points and are adding six to 10 monthly. We want to extend this network through smaller towns into rural markets, improving connections to schools, markets and public transport.

Heavy electric trucks cost substantially more than diesel vehicles. How will you convince fleet operators to switch?

The EMI is higher, but operating costs can be considerably lower.

A fully loaded diesel truck may cost around ₹50 per kilometre in fuel. At ₹12 per unit of electricity, an electric truck could cost around ₹30 per kilometre, falling further with cheaper electricity.

The opportunity is particularly strong in fixed-load, point-to-point operations where charging can be planned.

We conduct customer trials and demonstrate actual operating data before selling. We sell only where the business case works.

Will battery swapping be necessary for heavy electric trucks?

Not for most applications, in our view. Swapping is an option, but financing and charging availability are more important.

We are concentrating on applications where customers can plan charging around their operating schedules.

What technology are you developing to support expansion across vehicle categories?

We build vehicles around common elements such as motors, batteries, power electronics and software.

Software is central to our strategy. We have more than 100 people in our software team and recruit around 150 young engineers annually.

We are also working with IIT Chennai on pantograph-based fast charging. Developing these capabilities internally helps us apply technology across different vehicles.

Will EKA require additional funding for its expansion?

We have completed our funding rounds for now and are not looking for additional cash at present.

What will determine whether EKA achieves its $1-billion annual revenue ambition by 2030?

We see substantial opportunities beyond India.

Charging infrastructure and electricity transmission capacity will be critical as electric vehicle adoption increases.

The growth potential is substantial. The question is how quickly electric mobility penetration rises.

Pinnacle recorded ₹200 crore in revenue a decade ago. You now target ₹2,800 crore across Pinnacle and EKA. How have the businesses evolved? Pinnacle is a separate company manufacturing automotive seating systems, bus interiors and specialty vehicles, including ambulances. We supply components to other vehicle manufacturers and expect around ₹800 crore in revenue this year. I am always happy when somebody wins a bus tender because we also supply components to other manufacturers. At EKA, we are targeting ₹2,000 crore, against approximately ₹600 crore last year. Buses gave us manufacturing scale and service infrastructure.

Small commercial vehicles helped establish our dealer network. The third phase, which I believe will be even bigger, is heavy electric trucks. EKA's vehicle volumes rose 13.4 times to 1,786 in April-September from 133 a year earlier. How will the $2-billion bus book translate into revenue? We have orders for 11,000 buses. Including vehicles and long-term servicing, the value is almost $2 billion. The orders are there. We are matching production with depot readiness. Revenue could shift by two or three months depending on infrastructure availability. We are targeting $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030.

What infrastructure are you building to deliver these buses and support them over their operating lives? We have 20 operational depots and another 80 expected over 18 months. We expect to be present in 45 cities. Our service contracts run for 12 years. We maintain buses, supply parts and support uptime. Charging infrastructure is provided by the concessionaires operating the buses. We are achieving over 99 per cent uptime. In Mira-Bhayandar, one of our buses carries more than 800 passengers daily. Why do you believe six-seater electric vehicles can transform rural transport? Our ambition is to provide safe, affordable mobility in every village.

Around 2,000 six-seaters are already on the road. They cost approximately 50 paise per kilometre to operate, travel around 18 kilometres on one unit of electricity and charge through a normal 16-ampere socket. We have 75 operational dealer points and are adding six to 10 monthly. We want to extend this network through smaller towns into rural markets, improving connections to schools, markets and public transport. Heavy electric trucks cost substantially more than diesel vehicles. How will you convince fleet operators to switch? The EMI is higher, but operating costs can be considerably lower.

A fully loaded diesel truck may cost around ₹50 per kilometre in fuel. At ₹12 per unit of electricity, an electric truck could cost around ₹30 per kilometre, falling further with cheaper electricity. The opportunity is particularly strong in fixed-load, point-to-point operations where charging can be planned. We conduct customer trials and demonstrate actual operating data before selling. We sell only where the business case works. Will battery swapping be necessary for heavy electric trucks? Not for most applications, in our view. Swapping is an option, but financing and charging availability are more important.

We are concentrating on applications where customers can plan charging around their operating schedules. What technology are you developing to support expansion across vehicle categories? We build vehicles around common elements such as motors, batteries, power electronics and software. Software is central to our strategy. We have more than 100 people in our software team and recruit around 150 young engineers annually. We are also working with IIT Chennai on pantograph-based fast charging. Developing these capabilities internally helps us apply technology across different vehicles. Will EKA require additional funding for its expansion?

We have completed our funding rounds for now and are not looking for additional cash at present. What will determine whether EKA achieves its $1-billion annual revenue ambition by 2030? We see substantial opportunities beyond India. Charging infrastructure and electricity transmission capacity will be critical as electric vehicle adoption increases. The growth potential is substantial. The question is how quickly electric mobility penetration rises.