Over the past five years, the number of electric buses in Europe has increased from around 200 to 2,200 vehicles, according to a report from Busworld. For 2019, Poland-based Solaris claims to have concluded the most contracts for the construction of electric buses.

There are now some 800 electric-powered Solaris circulating in 72 cities, including Berlin (90), Milan (250) and Warsaw (130). 47% of the buses built by Solaris are powered by an alternative propulsion system.

Since 2005, Van Hool has built 130 hydrogen fuel cell buses. For some time now, it has no longer been a matter of small orders, but of large orders for a few dozen vehicles destined for Cologne, Wuppertal and QBuzz, among others, in the Netherlands.

A large order of double articulated Van Hool Exqui.City tram buses was delivered to Trondheim, in Norway. The Van Hool factory in Macedonia is building 900 buses this year; the factory is designed for an annual capacity of 1,000 buses. The Van Hool plant in Morristown (Tennessee, USA) is expected to start building buses from 2022.

About 20% of the buses built by Scania are now CNG or biogas buses. Recently, the first LNG-fueled coaches were delivered to a Spanish carrier.

In 2020, MAN, in cooperation with transport partners from five European countries, will have 15 MAN Lion City E-city buses tested in a day-to-day operation. The first series-produced MAN Lion City buses will be delivered in the autumn of 2020.

Volvo has now upgraded its hybrid buses. They can now drive silently and emission-free up to 50 km/h, whereas previously this was only up to 20 km/h. Depending on the weather conditions and topography, up to one kilometer of emission-free driving is possible. Combined with GPS-controlled geo-fencing, the hybrid bus is now easier to drive in smaller environmental zones. The upgrade is available for the full range of Euro 6 hybrid buses. As a result, fuel consumption and emissions are up to 40% lower than with a conventional Euro 6 diesel bus.

In its ‘Aiming for Zero’ objective, VDL Bus&Coach is building a new, climate-neutral factory in Roeselare (Belgium), where the first buses will be built from the end of 2021 to the beginning of 2022. The industrial buildings will be designed in such a way that only electrically powered buses can be built in a climate-neutral and efficient manner.

Meanwhile, almost 500 electrically powered VDL buses are in service in 11 countries. Taken together, they travel an average of 75,000 kilometers per day, resulting in a CO₂ reduction of 70 tonnes per day.

China. China-based Yutong delivers almost 25,000 new energy buses a year—375 per day. In 2018, Yutong built 60,868 buses, including 24,748 new energy buses. 7,216 electrically powered buses were built and 589 of these are on the road in Europe.

Worldwide, more than 120,000 Yutong electric buses are operating in more than 380 cities, resulting in a global market share of 15% for Yutong. For nine consecutive years, Yutong was the largest seller of new energy buses. With the U12 and the T13, Yutong has designed buses specifically for the European market.

Eight years ago, BYD was the first exhibitor at Busworld (Kortrijk) to present an electrically powered bus. BYD prides itself on more than ten years of experience in building electrically powered buses and on more than a quarter of a century of craftsmanship in battery technology. BYD profiles itself as a total supplier that also provides, if necessary, the supply and installation of a solar park to generate green energy.