China accounts for a whopping 98 percent of today’s global e-bus market.
Fueled by public policy and declining battery costs, global electric bus adoption is set to triple by 2025.
The Chinese market — the most promising in this sector — will surpass the 1 million e-bus mark by 2023 and reach 1.3 million by 2025, according to a new report on the e-bus landscape from Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables.
China dominates the heavy-duty electric vehicle (EV) segment, accounting for 98 percent of the global e-bus market through 2018. To support this high concentration of e-buses, a total of more than 50,000 e-bus charging points will be installed by the end of 2019. This figure is set to more than double by the end of 2025.
In 2018, 23 percent of bus purchases in China were electric. Overall bus purchases in the country are expected to remain stable, with 420,000 new purchases by 2025. Electric bus purchases are expected to increase along with further market growth and continuing government support, reaching 40 percent of new bus purchases globally in 2040.
U.S. and Europe to see growth post-2025
WoodMac’s new report says a combined 40,000 electric heavy-duty vehicles will be on the roads in the U.S. and Europe by 2025. The current market will expand to 7,300 e-buses by the end of 2019, representing pilot schemes across both regions that will add up to nearly $6 billion in market value.
Most transit and school bus operators are still wary of e-buses due to their status as a new technology and will continue testing the equipment prior to investing in scaling current deployments. However, government and transit agencies have clean transportation targets that should accelerate growth beyond 2025.