The European bus market has crossed a threshold that once looked years away: zero-emission vehicles now account for roughly a quarter of new EU bus and coach registrations. According to ICCT figures reported by Sustainable Bus, zero-emission models reached 24.2% of the market in the first quarter of 2026, with 2,732 vehicles registered across the European Union.
2025 set the stage
The momentum built through last year. Electric bus registrations across Europe reached 11,607 units in 2025 — up 48% on the 7,855 registered the year before. City buses are electrifying fastest; several markets now see battery-electric models as the default urban choice rather than the exception.
The league table is being redrawn
- Yutong led Europe’s 2025 electric bus registrations with 1,801 units and a 15.5% share — a Chinese manufacturer at the top of a market long dominated by European brands.
- BYD tripled its volumes, jumping 206% to 1,305 registrations, delivered its 5,000th electric bus in Europe, and is expanding its Hungarian plant beyond 1,000 units of annual capacity.
- Solaris remains Europe’s strongest home player in zero-emission technology, supplying nearly half of the continent’s 558 hydrogen fuel cell bus registrations in 2025, alongside a major battery-electric order book.
The deals to watch
Framework agreements are getting bigger. Switzerland’s PostAuto has signed with Solaris for up to 115 electric Urbino buses — a mix of 12-metre and 18-metre models — with an initial firm order of 33 and deliveries running to the end of 2027. Contracts of this scale, once exceptional, are becoming the standard shape of European bus procurement.
What it means
For operators, the question has shifted from whether to electrify to how fast — and from vehicle choice to depot power, charging strategy and residual value. For European manufacturers, the arrival of Chinese competitors at the top of the sales charts makes the next two years a genuine fight for the home market.
Sources: Sustainable Bus / ICCT, Driving ZEV
Cover photo: Penguin9 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
