Electric City Bus Sales Overtake Diesel in Europe
The most recent quarterly sales data for buses this year shows that the share of diesel-only vehicles sold has dipped below its majority stake, giving way to battery electric to take a leading role. This marks the first time that a zero-emission technology has become dominant in a road transport sector in Europe.
City buses make up about 60% of all heavy-duty passenger vehicle sales (the rest are coaches and interurban buses). They are also in a prime position for electrification; they operate predictable routes which eliminates range anxiety, they’re usually stored in depots overnight where they can be charged, and they’re normally publicly procured, giving their purchase access to a wider amount of capital compared to the private transport market.
But this switch hasn’t so much emerged due to a significant rise in zero-emission sales which has hovered around 30% for the last year—but rather from a fall in diesel-only sales giving way to a hybrid buses, which also overtook the share of diesel this year.
The European Commission has recently proposed that by 2030 only zero-emission city buses can be sold in the European Union. While this is certainly an ambitious target, the strong performance of zero-emission buses over the last few years, supported by the commitments from Member States, cities, and manufacturers, show this is a realistic (and necessary) target to set.
Electric City Bus Sales Overtake Diesel in Europe
The most recent quarterly sales data for buses this year shows that the share of diesel-only vehicles sold has dipped below its majority stake, giving way to battery electric to take a leading role. This marks the first time that a zero-emission technology has become dominant in a road transport sector in Europe.
City buses make up about 60% of all heavy-duty passenger vehicle sales (the rest are coaches and interurban buses). They are also in a prime position for electrification; they operate predictable routes which eliminates range anxiety, they’re usually stored in depots overnight where they can be charged, and they’re normally publicly procured, giving their purchase access to a wider amount of capital compared to the private transport market.
But this switch hasn’t so much emerged due to a significant rise in zero-emission sales which has hovered around 30% for the last year—but rather from a fall in diesel-only sales giving way to a hybrid buses, which also overtook the share of diesel this year.
The European Commission has recently proposed that by 2030 only zero-emission city buses can be sold in the European Union. While this is certainly an ambitious target, the strong performance of zero-emission buses over the last few years, supported by the commitments from Member States, cities, and manufacturers, show this is a realistic (and necessary) target to set.
