“Decade of the e-bus has begun” – PwC

The number of buses with emission-free, electrified drives on Germany's roads doubled from 2020 to 2021, heralding the “decade of the e-bus,” said consultancy and accounting firm PwC. The 1,000-vehicle mark has been exceeded, said PwC’s fifth E-bus Radar report. The vast majority of these are battery buses (1,066). The other types of drive make up only a few percent: There are currently 88 fuel cell buses, 80 overhead power line (catenary) buses and 35 plug-in hybrid buses in Germany's public transport system, said the report. Currently, electric buses make up only about 2.4 percent of the total public transport bus fleet of about 54,000 vehicles, said PwC and called for more support. “The decade of the e-bus has begun – transport companies need a future-proof electrification strategy today rather than tomorrow, underpinned by appropriate funding,” said PwC’s Maximilian Rohs.

The analysis only considers buses with more than eight passenger seats which are considered "clean" or "emission-free" in the sense of the "Clean Vehicles Directive" (CVD) of the European Union, said PwC. Many German municipalities and cities are decarbonising their public transport systems, and subsidy schemes are in high demand. Germany's automotive industry has been slow in offering low-emission buses, forcing cities, such as Berlin, to opt for electric buses made by Poland’s Solaris.