UK, Germany and Norway lead the 2023 e-bus market in Europe (high growth in Italy and Spain)

The European electric bus market experienced a remarkable surge in registrations in 2023, with a 53% growth in 2023. A total of 6,354 electric buses were registered across EU27, Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland. Notably, over 42% of city buses now operate as zero-emission vehicles. But let’s see which are the countries leading this transition, and which ones are experiencing the fastest growth.

The United Kingdom led the pack of the European BEV market last year with a remarkable 76.1% increase in electric bus registrations, reaching a total of 1,206 new units in 2023, up from 685 in 2022.

UK, Germany and Norway on the podium

In UK surprising facts are happening in the industry landscape: Wrightbus placed fourth in the e-bus market 2023 with volumes up 320% on 2022. On the other hand, the joint venture between Alexander Dennis – BYD has been the only brand (within the top ten) witnessing a decrease of volumes in 2023.

Germany follows closely with 753 BEV buses registered in 2023, marking a 29.6% increase from the previous year.

Continuing with the last spot on the podium, Norway saw a staggering 128.2% surge in electric bus registrations, totaling 493 units in 2023. The Nordic country is in good company of other two fast growing e-bus market: Spain and Italy also experienced notable increases in electric bus registrations, with 261.0% and 230.6% growth rates, respectively. These figures demonstrate a growing trend towards electrification in Southern Europe, driven by both environmental concerns and governmental incentives.

Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium are growing fast!

It should be mentioned that 2023 has been a booming year for the Italian market where after the 2,351 number plates registered during 2022, registrations of buses over 8 ton hit the figure of 4,043 in 2023. The growth on 2022 is impressive: +72%.

On the other hand, some countries witnessed a decline or stagnation in electric bus registrations. France, the largest bus and coach market in the continent, saw a slight decrease of 24.2% in volumes, while Finland experienced a significant drop of 62.7% in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Two other countries are worth mentioning for their significant growth rate. Portugal, where a 600% increase was experienced last year (364 vs 52) and Belgium with +309% (172 vs 45).