German bus market: in 2024 registrations down 2%, with e-buses -12% (Mercedes on top)
German bus market decreased 2% in 2024 according to data released by German Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA and covered on German trade media omnibus.news. The German bus market in 2024 shows signs of stagnation. 5,382 buses were newly registered between January and December 2024, vs 5,492 in 2023. This includes not only traditional buses […]
German bus market decreased 2% in 2024 according to data released by German Federal Motor Transport Authority KBA and covered on German trade media omnibus.news.
The German bus market in 2024 shows signs of stagnation. 5,382 buses were newly registered between January and December 2024, vs 5,492 in 2023. This includes not only traditional buses but also converted vans and minibuses weighing over 3.5 tons. The electric bus segment experienced a more pronounced drop. Registrations of new battery-electric buses fell to 711 units in 2024, down from 809 in the previous year: -12%. Leaders? As covered on omnibus.news, the top seller resulted being Daimler Buses with the eCitaro, followed by MAN, Ebusco, VDL and BYD.
In 2024 Italian market broke all records with nearly 5,000 buses over 8 ton registered (the highest figure reached before 2024 was the 4,400 units registered in… 2001). In the same 2024, Swedish bus market experienced a 30% drop in new registrations. French bus and coach market grew 2%.
| France | 5,807 (+2% on 2023) |
| Germany | 5,382* (-2%) |
| Italy | 4,920** (+20%) |
| Spain | 4,355 (+16%) [3,604 over 8 ton, +9%] |
** only buses and coaches over 8 ton
Elaboration Sustainable Bus
German bus market: a 2024 of stagnation
As omnibus.news sums up, in 2021, new bus registrations in Germany hit 6,474 units, but by 2022, they had dropped to 4,883. The 2023 total showed a slight recovery with 5,492 registrations. However, the 2024 data suggests a minor decline again.
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Stop to subsidies for e-buses in Germany: what’s now?
This decline in registrations, and mostly in e-bus registrations, is related to the German government’s decision to discontinue subsidies for electric buses, a move that has significantly impacted industry plans.
The top sellers in the electric bus market
Daimler Buses led the electric bus market in Germany with 379 Mercedes eCitaro registrations (a 53% market share), followed by MAN with 94 units and a 13% market share and ailing Ebusco with 75 vehicles and 10% share. Under the podium, VDL with 63 units and BYD with 44.
What is also worth mentioning, quoting 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.
“The bus and coach market in Germany has not yet really recovered from the slump caused by the 2020 pandemic. Even if demand for coaches has returned, this segment is still nowhere near the pre-pandemic figures. Last but not least, the cancellation of subsidies for electric buses by the German government is putting the brakes on business with (electric) buses”, reads the article.
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“.
