40,000 visitors in Brussels: Busworld Europe 2019 bigger than ever

Busworld Europe 2019. The biggest ‘bus and coach only’ exhibition in the world organized its first edition in Brussels from 18 to 23 October 2019. All numbers increased: more space (50,000 to 79,000 sqm), more exhibitors (376 to 511 of which 176 were newcomers) and more visitors (37,274 to 39,798).

The road is paved for the next edition: from 8 to 13 October 2021. Busworld will celebrate its 50th birthday.

The exhibitors, visitors, members of the press and the organising teams all agree: it’s been a great success. Busworld this year has been bigger and better than ever.

143 countries represented at Busworld Europe 2019

511 exhibitors came out of 37 countries with a top 3 of Turkey, Germany and China. Visitors came from 143 countries which is a significant difference in comparison with 118 countries in 2017. Busworld clearly confirmed and even reinforced its bi-annual international sales and networking platform for all professionals in the bus and coach industry around the world, the organizers says in a press note.

Busworld Europe 2019: electrification a key topic

Although Busworld never determines a specific theme, the electrification theme developed itself naturally during this edition, Busworld highlights. Almost every bus, present inside and outside the Brussels Expo, was equipped with an electric driveline.

Busworld Europe 2019. From Kortrijk to Brussels

The decision to move Busworld Europe from Kortrijk, where it was born in 1971, to the bigger venue of Brussels has been critical. Today everyone is unanimous, Busworld points out: it was the right choice.

Mieke Glorieux confirms: “We did it! It was a lot of work and a lot of sleepless nights, but we can all be very proud of the result. I want to thank all people involved in this success: my own team, the Kortrijk Xpo team who moved to Brussels with us to organise the extra services and last but not least the Brussels Expo team, who did a tremendous job in hosting us. I am, as always, very grateful for the many exhibitors who supported us and the numerous visitors that came, more than ever, from all over the world. So in short: I am very happy!”

Redgy Deschacht, President of Busworld, reacted proudly: “Of course this is the best possible evolution for Busworld we have been working and hoping for. Edition after edition, the growth and internationalisation went hand in hand. We would not have been able to do this without the loyal support of our exhibitors.”

International Bus Conference sold out

The Busworld Academy programme during Busworld Europe welcomed 154 speakers and 1,017 participants of which 550 in the International Bus Conference. Launched in 2013, it grew in 4 editions from 40 to over 1,000 participants in 2019.

Seminars and conferences were organized in collaboration with UITP, VIAS, ICB-institute, Ghent University, GNVA and the American Bus Association. The current hot topics in the bus industry were covered: the evolution towards autonomous buses, the implementation of Mobility as a Service and the ongoing digitalization, the way towards low and zero emission bus services, the future of SME’s in our industry, the import regulations for buses and components in the US, improving road safety via adapted infrastructure, etc.

The 550 International Bus Conference delegates visited the exhibition through thematic visits, organized by UITP.

Busworld Awards, the winners at Busworld Europe 2019

Like in previous editions, Busworld organized its own competition: the Busworld Awards. All vehicle manufacturers were invited to take part in it with the vehicles they presented during the show.

The Grand Award Bus to Van Hool hydrogen powered

The Grand Award Bus went to the hydrogen-powered Van Hool Exqui.City FC Design Pau. Thanks to its capacity of operational autonomy, which totally surpasses that of other vehicles, the hydrogen fuel cell bus has also been awarded the Ecology Label.

The jury praised the safety features, the completely separated driver space with centrally located controls, the excellent visibility for the driver and the multitude of cameras covering the entire external area of the bus.

Volvo 9900 wins the Grand Award Coach

The Grand Award Coach went to the Volvo 9900. It wins through good scores on design, maintenance, driving quality, comfort and acceleration. Safety is another asset of this coach, which yields Volvo the Safety Label once again. The jury was impressed by the passive & active safety automated fire extinguishing system, black box system and on board computer, the driver passive safety (energy absorption zone) and the passenger safety (light entrance and exit).

Busworld Awards 2019: the Labels of Excellence

Here you can find an overview of the awarded Labels of Excellence:

BUS

• Comfort Label Bus: Mercedes-Benz eCitaro

• Safety Label Bus: MAN Lion’s City Hybrid

• Design Label Bus: Yutong U12

• Ecology Label Bus: Van Hool Exqui.City FC Design Pau

COACH

• Comfort Label Coach: Van Hool EX11H

• Comfort Label Coach: Setra Topclass S 531 DT

• Design Label Coach: Yutong T13

• Ecology Label Coach: Yutong ICe12

• Safety Label Coach: Volvo 9900

Last but not least… Innovation Labels

After the application of 66 products, a shortlist of 27 was made by the Busworld Awards jury. This shortlist was paid a visit on the booth on 17 October. As a final result, nine products can proudly announce their Innovation Label of Busworld Europe 2019:

NON-VEHICLES

• AKASOL – AKASystem AKM CYC – The Ultra High Energy Module

• ZF Friedrichshafen AG – CeTrax

• MEKRA Lang – Digital VisionSystem

• GEA Bock GmbH – GEA Bock HR40 StarCO2mpressor

• DAFO Vehicle Fire Protection – Lilon Fire

• Stoneridge | Orlaco – MirrorEye

• Volvo Bus Corporation – Volvo Electric Driveline

VEHICLES

• King Long Motor Group – Apolong

• Ebusco – Ebusco 3.0