Spotlight on the main EU bus and coach markets in 2024: France, Germany, Italy and Spain

The European bus market in 2024 presented a mixed picture, with some countries experiencing significant growth and others facing stagnation. Here’s a closer look at the key trends in four major markets: Italy, Germany, France, and Spain.

France, the main European bus market

France’s bus market displayed modest growth of 2% in 2024, with 5,807 units registered. Here, Iveco emerged as the clear leader with a commanding 51.5% market share, followed by established players Daimler and MAN. Notably, Irizar had a stellar year with a increase of 176%, while Temsa also performed well, particularly in the school bus segment, with a growth of 37%. The French market also witnessed a small but growing presence of Chinese OEMs, capturing 1.5% of the market share.

According to several observers, the growth of the French market would have been higher if the factories could have delivered more vehicles, as highlighted during Autocar Expo held in December 2024. Malina Marjanovic, Sales director at Daimler Buses in France said that “the orders books are full until 2027. The orders are linked to manufacturers’ load plans”. As a consequence “all the qualitative Euro VI 2nd hand coaches are quickly sold out at high prices”.

Germany: e-buses are down!

Germany’s bus market, in contrast to Italy’s, experienced a slight decline of 2% in 2024, registering 5,382 units. This stagnation can be partially attributed to reduced subsidies for electric buses, which dampened adoption rates. In fact, registrations of new battery-electric buses fell to 711 units in 2024, down from 809 in the previous year: -12%.

The German market has exhibited volatility in recent years, reaching a peak of 6,400 units in 2021. The cancellation of subsidies for electric buses by the German government is putting the brakes on business with (electric) buses.

What is also worth mentioning, quoting local trade media omnibus.news, “out of the 5,493 new buses in 2023, 2,335 had an alternative drive, which corresponds to 42.5 percent. In 2024, there were 5,382 new buses, 1,745 of those had an alternative drive, which corresponds to 32.4 percent”. Alternative drives buses have been decreasing, then.

In September 2024, a industry survey of VDV member companies specifically showed that of the 2,396 locally emission-free city buses originally planned, only 42 per cent will be procured as planned, as a consequence of the cuts in the federal budget, announced early 2024 (which opened up a lively debate). According to the VDV, “The funds for the purchase of zero-emission buses and for the necessary conversion of depots have been reduced by almost 77 million euros in the federal budget“.

Italy: record-breaking growth fueled by Next Generation EU

Italy’s bus market witnessed a remarkable 20% surge in 2024, reaching nearly 5,000 registered units. This impressive growth can be attributed largely to substantial investments from the Next Generation EU initiative, which allocated €2 billion specifically for zero-emission city buses.

As a result, electric city buses captured a 40% share of new city bus registrations. Iveco emerges (again) as the leader of the Italian market with a commanding 41% market share.

Rising are also natural gas buses, while intercity buses saw a decline of 16.7%. Interestingly, the coach segment experienced a significant rebound, with a 25.1% increase, although it hasn’t yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels (2019).

Spain, a 16% growth

Spain’s bus market registered a healthy 16% increase in 2024, with a total of 4,355 buses and coaches. Among heavier buses (over 8 tons), registrations grew by 9%, reaching 3,604 units. Mercedes-Benz secured the top spot with 1,077 units (25% market share), followed by Iveco (+13%) and MAN (+19%). Irizar continued its strong performance in Spain with a 27% growth.

Several other manufacturers also saw impressive gains, including Temsa (+40%), King Long (+155%), and Alfabus. Interestingly, Solaris experienced a significant drop of 64% in the Spanish market.