European bus market closes strong first half, with all main drivetrains posting growth

Growth in the European bus market accelerated further in the first half of 2026. While last year the EU market was already clearly characterised by a recovery in demand, data for the first six months of this year show that the upswing has strengthened further. According to statistics published by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), 22,590 buses and coaches with a maximum permissible gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes were registered in the European Union, representing growth of 22.7% compared with the first half of 2025. What is more, this time demand did not increase only for electric buses: registrations rose across all three key drivetrain types – diesel, hybrid and electrically chargeable buses – clearly indicating that the entire European bus market is currently on a growth trajectory.

Market expansion was driven primarily by the performance of the largest EU bus markets. In the first six months of the year, Italy registered the highest number of new buses, with a total of 3,965 vehicles, up 51.6% on the same period of the previous year. Germany ranked second with 3,698 new vehicles (+21.6%), while in France 3,407 buses were sold, likewise corresponding to growth of 21.6%. Poland has now become the fourth-largest market, where registrations rose from 1,200 to 2,136, an increase of 78% in a single year. By contrast, among the major markets, demand declined only in Spain: the 1,767 new buses registered there represented a fall of 8.5% compared with the first half of 2025.

Looking at the overall picture, however, it is clear that growth was not attributable to a single technology. While in recent years the market was driven mainly by the advance of electric buses, in the first half of 2026 new registrations increased for all three key drivetrain types – diesel, hybrid and electrically chargeable buses. This suggests that what is currently taking place is not merely a shift between powertrains, but a substantial expansion of the European bus market itself.

The strongest growth was once again achieved by electrically chargeable buses – battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In the first half of the year, a total of 6,247 such vehicles were registered in the European Union, representing an increase of 56.8% compared with the same period in 2025. As a result, their market share rose from 21.6% to 27.7% in the space of a year, meaning that more than one in four new buses entered service with a powertrain that can be charged from an external source.

The electric bus market was clearly dominated by Italy, where 1,667 new vehicles were registered – more than four times the volume recorded a year earlier (+315.7%). Poland ranked second with 713 units (+642.7%), while 568 electrically chargeable buses entered service in Germany, 531 in the Netherlands and 515 in Portugal. France was also a significant market, with 412 new electric buses, as was Sweden with 350.

Although the expansion of the electric bus market remains striking, diesel propulsion continues to dominate the European market. In the first half of 2026, 13,139 new diesel buses were registered, an increase of 11% year on year. Although diesel’s market share eased to 58.2%, it remains by far the most widespread drivetrain, primarily in the interurban and coach segments.

Growth was considerably more modest in the hybrid bus category, which includes both full and mild hybrids, but this segment also managed to expand. In the first half of the year, 1,381 new hybrid buses were registered in the European Union, up 10.7% compared with the same period of the base year. Their market share thereby increased to 6.1%.

Germany was the largest hybrid bus market, with 717 such vehicles entering service, representing growth of 83.4% in one year. Spain ranked second with 284 units, although registrations there fell by 21.8%. In France, 173 hybrid buses were registered (+12.3%), in Poland 86 (+28.4%), and in Italy 75, although the latter market saw a decline of 64.6%.

The Hungarian bus market also expanded significantly in the first six months of 2026. According to ACEA data, a total of 472 new buses over 3.5 tonnes were registered, compared with 328 units a year earlier, representing growth of 43.9%. The vast majority of domestic registrations were diesel buses, at 427 units, corresponding to an increase of 35.1%. In addition, 45 electric buses were registered, up 275% from 12 units last year, while no new hybrid buses were registered in the first half of this year either.

ACEA’s statistics cover not only the European Union, but also the bus markets of the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – Iceland, Norway and Switzerland – as well as the United Kingdom. Together, these three areas make up the organisation’s full European bus market statistics, according to which a total of 27,742 new buses were registered in Europe in the first half of 2026, an increase of 10.5% compared with 25,098 units a year earlier. Across the entire European market, 8,238 electrically chargeable buses, 16,242 diesel buses, 1,439 hybrid buses and 1,823 buses with other powertrains were registered.

Among the EFTA countries, Norway remains the largest bus market: in the first half of the year, 1,080 new buses were registered, representing growth of 33.5%. Although the market in Switzerland was much smaller, it expanded extremely dynamically, with registrations rising from 72 to 349 (+384.7%). In Iceland, by contrast, 107 new buses were registered, down 12.3% on the previous year. In the EFTA countries, a total of 1,536 new buses were registered, of which 837 were electrically chargeable, 641 diesel-powered, 58 hybrid, while just a single vehicle fell into the other-powertrain category. This means that the share of electrically chargeable buses already exceeded 54% in these three countries.

In the United Kingdom, by contrast, the market declined sharply. Compared with 5,691 units in the first half of 2025, only 3,616 new buses were registered this year, a decrease of 36.5%. The British market saw registrations of 2,462 diesel buses and 1,154 electrically chargeable buses, while not a single new hybrid vehicle entered service. The weaker performance of the United Kingdom significantly held back the growth rate of the overall European market, which thus reached 10.5%, compared with the 22.7% expansion measured in the European Union alone.

Although the statistics paint a favourable picture of the European bus market, ACEA says the pace of adoption of alternatively fuelled vehicles is still not sufficient to meet the EU’s long-term climate targets. The organisation also points out that while the market share of electric commercial vehicles continues to rise, the rate of growth still falls short of what is needed. The main reason remains the lack of adequate charging infrastructure and other supporting conditions, which poses a serious challenge particularly for heavier commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks.