Santiago, São Paulo and Bogotá make up nearly 70% of Latin America’s e-bus fleet, now approaching 10,000 vehicles

Latin America’s electric bus fleet surpassed 9,000 vehicles in 2025 and is likely already above the 10,000-unit threshold, according to ICCT data and updated figures based on the E-bus Radar and reported by trade agency electrive

The electric bus fleet operating across Latin America and the Caribbean reached 9,115 vehicles by the end of 2025, according to the latest “Market Spotlight” published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). German trade media electrive, citing more recent E-Bus Radar data updated to February 2026, reports that the regional fleet had already climbed to 9,909 vehicles and states that the 10,000th electric bus has likely already entered service in the region.

The regional fleet recorded growth of 40% year-on-year and has expanded tenfold since 2017.

Battery-electric buses in mass in Latin America

The ICCT report identifies battery-electric buses (BEBs) as the main driver behind the market’s expansion, with BEBs increasingly overtaking trolleybuses as the dominant electric bus technology across Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to ICCT, Chile accounted for 47% of the regional electric bus fleet in 2025, followed by Colombia with 17% and Brazil with 16%. Mexico represented 12% of the market, while all other countries combined accounted for approximately 8%.

Deployment remains concentrated in a limited number of metropolitan areas. Santiago de Chile reached 3,849 electric buses in operation by the end of 2025 according to ICCT (with as many as 1,800 reportedly delivered during last year), while electrive reports that updated February 2026 data already place the city at 4,222 units. São Paulo increased its fleet from 460 to 1,095 vehicles during 2025 (the 1,000th units was delivered in November), with electrive reporting a further increase to 1,271 buses by February 2026. São Paulo’s Transit Agency SPTrans (over 13,000 buses) has banned the procurement of new diesel buses already in 2022.

Bogotá’s fleet stood at 1,554 vehicles according to the updated figures cited by the German trade publication: the city launched the rollout of 711 electric buses with first 68 units bodied by Marcopolo Superpolo earlier this year.

An easy calculation reveal that 70 percent of Latin American e-buses are deployed in these three cities.

However, ICCT report states that electric buses are now operating across 77 cities and metropolitan areas in 12 Latin American countries.

Chinese manufacturers are mainstream in Latin America

Chinese manufacturers continue to dominate the regional market. According to ICCT, BYD leads with 2,961 vehicles deployed between 2017 and 2025, corresponding to 32% of the regional fleet. Foton follows with 1,492 vehicles and Yutong with 1,417. Zhongtong accounted for 946 units, while Brazilian manufacturer Eletra deployed 894 vehicles, mainly in the domestic market.