6 EU countries only registered zero-emission city buses in Q2 2023 (and ZE share grew to 40%)

Share of zero-emission buses is growing in the European city bus market. In Q2 2023 it was 40%, up from the 30% of the first quarter of the year (same share for the whole 2022). The sales figures, along with a chart (published below), was shared by Eamonn Mulholland, Associate Researcher at The International Council on Clean Transportation, on Linkedin. Source of the figures is Chatrou CME Solutions.

Six European Member States exclusively registered zero-emission city buses during this quarter: Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia, Ireland, Finland, and Portugal.

Six EU countries only registered zero-emission buses

During the second quarter of this year, the share of zero-emission city buses reached a 40%, firmly establishing their dominance as the preferred technology choice. The sales figures revealed that pure electric buses accounted for the majority (38%), while hydrogen fuel cell buses held a smaller but steadily growing share (2%).

As mentioned above, six European Member States exclusively registered zero-emission city buses during this quarter: Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia, Ireland, Finland, and Portugal. Among these, battery-electric buses remain the most popular choice, but hydrogen fuel cell buses are gaining momentum in some larger countries like Germany and France.

However, it’s worth noting that certain countries, particularly France and Italy, are still witnessing significant sales of natural gas-powered buses.

“The European Commission has proposed a target of 100% zero-emission bus sales by 2030. The current market trends indicate this is a very achievable standard, as more and more countries phase out the sale of the internal combustion engine city bus”, Mulholland added on Linkedin (a similar position has been adopted by ONG Transport & Environment).