Bolloré plans Bluebus production shutdown and Blue Solutions Gen4 battery refocus

Bolloré is considering permanently discontinuing Bluebus electric bus production, while Blue Solutions is preparing a refocus of its fourth-generation solid-state battery strategy.

Bolloré SE informed employees of the two projects on 8 September 2026, according to a press release issued by the French group. The envisaged Bluebus restructuring could affect 74 positions over three years, while a separate Employment Protection Plan concerning Blue Solutions could affect 41 positions.

At the same time, an unnamed European industrial company active in public transport is considering acquiring certain Bluebus assets, including its research and development activities. The proposed transaction would involve the transfer of 17 employment contracts.

Bluebus challanges, low growth and Paris’ accidents

Bluebus has had a significant presence in the French electric bus market, including in the RATP fleet in Paris. In the first half of 2024, Bluebus ranked second in French electric bus registrations. The manufacturer’s operations with RATP had previously been affected by two fires involving Bluebus 12m vehicles in Paris in April 2022. The first incident involved a bus operating on RATP line 86; following a second fire later that month, RATP withdrew 149 Bluebus electric buses from operation. In May 2023, RATP CEO Jean Castex said the buses would return only after the required safety guarantees had been obtained and requested compensation from the Bolloré group. In January 2024, RATP, Île-de-France Mobilités and Bluebus reached an agreement covering the return of the vehicles and compensation. The fleet subsequently began returning to service in April 2024. In total, 232 Bluebus vehicles had been immobilised, including vehicles delivered after April 2022, with additional safety measures implemented on the buses.

Bolloré does not mention the RATP incidents in its September 2026 announcement or establish a connection between them and the envisaged discontinuation of Bluebus production. The group instead cites slower-than-anticipated growth in the French market, intense competition and sustained pricing pressure, stating that Bluebus did not achieve the scale required to compete effectively with other manufacturers.

The announcement does not provide specific information about the future of Bluebus’s cooperation with Spanish minibus manufacturer Indcar. Indcar has been Bluebus’s distributor in Italy and Spain since 2023, with the six-metre Bluebus marketed under the e-B6 name. The Indcar e-B6 was displayed at FIAA 2024, following testing of the vehicle in more than ten Spanish cities.

Bluebus production could end after nearly 700 electric buses deployed

Bluebus was established in Ergué-Gabéric, France, in 2011 to develop and manufacture fully electric buses and deploy the solid-state lithium metal polymer (LMP) battery technology developed by sister company Blue Solutions under operating conditions.

According to Bolloré, nearly 700 six- and twelve-metre electric buses have been deployed in France and elsewhere in Europe since the company’s establishment.

Bolloré states that slower-than-anticipated growth in the French market, together with competition and sustained pricing pressure, prevented Bluebus from reaching the scale required to compete with other manufacturers. The group says that it had explored strategic alternatives and taken measures to adapt the Bluebus business model over several years before presenting the current project.

An information and consultation process has consequently been launched with employee representative bodies concerning an Employment Protection Plan, or Plan de Sauvegarde de l’Emploi (PSE). The project could affect 74 positions over a three-year period.

If production is discontinued, a smaller Bluebus organisation would remain in place to fulfil existing commitments, particularly after-sales activities and support for vehicles currently in operation, according to Bolloré.

In brief

• Is Bolloré ending Bluebus electric bus production?
  Bolloré has presented a project envisaging the permanent discontinuation of Bluebus electric bus manufacturing.
• How many positions could be affected?
  The Bluebus Employment Protection Plan could affect 74 positions over three years, while the Blue Solutions plan could affect another 41.
• Could part of Bluebus be acquired?
  A European industrial company is considering acquiring Bluebus R&D activities, with 17 employment contracts potentially transferred, Bolloré states.
• What happens to the Bluebus-Indcar cooperation?
  Bolloré’s announcement does not specify the future of the six-metre e-B6 or its commercial cooperation with Indcar.

A separate proposal could reduce the number of positions eliminated. An offer from a European industrial company is due to be presented to Bluebus employee representatives. Bolloré describes the prospective buyer as a company with a long-standing presence in the public transport sector.

The proposal concerns the acquisition of Bluebus research and development activities and would involve the transfer of 17 employment contracts.

Blue Solutions plans refocus of Gen4 solid-state battery activities

In parallel with the Bluebus project, Bolloré has presented a proposed change to the strategy of Blue Solutions, which is developing its fourth-generation solid-state battery technology, known as Gen4.

According to Bolloré, Blue Solutions is facing challenges affecting the European battery and automotive sectors and is proposing to streamline its organisation. The company plans to continue advancing Gen4 technology towards industrial scale alongside a strategic investor.

An information and consultation process has also been launched with Blue Solutions employee representative bodies regarding an Employment Protection Plan. The envisaged restructuring could affect 41 positions.

Once the information and consultation procedures have been completed, Blue Solutions will seek the required approvals from the relevant administrative authorities, Bolloré states.

Blue Solutions has been developing battery technologies for more than three decades. The LMP solid-state technology developed by the company has been used on Bluebus electric buses, while the current Gen4 programme concerns its next generation of solid-state batteries.

The September announcement therefore covers two separate projects within Bolloré’s electric mobility activities: the envisaged permanent discontinuation of Bluebus manufacturing and the proposed reorganisation of Blue Solutions around the further development and industrialisation of Gen4 technology.