#electric-buses

#electric-buses

The Tzen 4, a fully electric bus rapid transit line operating largely on segregated lanes, entered service on 10 February 2026 in the southern Île-de-France region. After several years of infrastructure works (the start of commercial operations was expected in 2024 ...), the new corridor connects Viry-Châtillon to Corbeil-Essonnes, serving the municipalities of Grigny, Ris-Orangis and Évry-Courcouronnes along a 14-kilometre route.

The buses were ordered in August 2025 and belong to the new platform developed in partnership with Chinese CRRC an presented at Busworld Europe 2025. The delivery represents the latest step in the fleet decarbonisation programme of STCP. Alongside the entry into service of the new vehicles, Caetano confirms that STCP has already placed an additional order for 30 electric buses, scheduled for delivery in the coming months.

Kinetic is currently the largest mass transit operator in Australasia, with over 12,000 buses and 400 trains operated across seven countries through its various subsidiaries. The group also holds a 51% stake in the UK-based Go-Ahead Group. In late 2025 Kinetic has entered into an agreement with U.S.-based investment firm TPG, under which the latter will acquire a 70 percent equity interest and become the company's majority shareholder.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has confirmed on January 23rd the operators that will deliver the first phase of its new bus franchising system, bringing buses back under public control for the first time since deregulation in the 1980s. The move places Liverpool among a small group of English regions outside London to adopt a franchised public transport model, fundamentally changing how local bus services are planned, funded and delivered.

Autoguidovie, Italy, has launched a tender process to renew and expand its fleet, publishing a series of framework agreements that provide for the overall supply of up to 195 buses, accompanied by full-service maintenance contracts. The operation has a total economic value of more than €113 million. The strategy is a technology mix that includes plug-in electric buses, CNG-powered vehicles and diesel buses, as well as a diversification in size and class that reflects different operational needs.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), the Daimler Truck subsidiary responsible for the FUSO brand, has announced on January 22nd 2026 plans to create a standalone bus company in Japan together with Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), marking a further step in the convergence of traditional commercial vehicle manufacturing and electronics-led electric vehicle development. Katsuto Kora, currently Director and Head of FUSO Bus at MFTBC, has been designated CEO of the future company. The new bus company will be headquartered in Kawasaki, Japan, while vehicle development and manufacturing will be carried out at the existing FUSO bus plant in Toyama. Products will be marketed under the FUSO brand.

Temsa announces it has completed the delivery of 10 intercity electric buses to Portugal as part of a wider handover of 65 vehicles across Ireland, Portugal and Italy. The Portuguese delivery centres on the LD SB E, which Temsa positions as Europe's first fully electric intercity bus as it was presented for the first time at the IAA expo in Hannover in 2022 and re-proposed at Busworld in Brussels in October 2023.

As of 2024, electric buses have reached double-digit fleet shares in Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark, but diesel continues to overwhelmingly dominate Europe's buses overall (although, as still ACEA reported, between January and September 2025, registrations of electric buses in the European Union reached 6,444 units, up 49 percent compared to the same period in 2024). It's also worth noticing how in Luxembourg, Finland and Denmark zero emission buses covered over 2/3 of the total bus and coach market in 2024.

In 2025, the Netherlands counted 2,748 zero-emission buses in operation (+853 on 2024), with electric buses accounting for 26% of all bus kilometres driven. At the same time, the share of diesel fell to 65% (from 69), according to CROW's latest monitoring of public transport fleets. Still according to CROW's researches, the country exceeded 1,000 units in operation as of 2020.

The planned procurement, expected to be launched next month, represents one of the largest fleet investments by Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) in recent years. According to reporting by local outlet nau.ch (that takes up a story originally addressed by CH Media), the Zurich-based public transport company intends to source a new generation of battery-electric buses through an open tender, despite having the option to place direct follow-up orders with its existing suppliers.

The start of service follows a press note issued by Prague Public Transit Company (Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy, DPP) in mid-December, outlining the phased introduction of the SOR ENS 12 into everyday operation. As of 18 December 2025, four vehicles have been dispatched from the Vršovice depot onto selected duties on route 213, representing the first step in a broader deployment plan.

The new vehicles will bring the city's electric bus fleet to 240 units, with full deployment expected by March 2027. The expansion is supported by £8 million in Government funding, with local operators Arriva and Centrebus contributing a further £18 million, taking the total value of the latest phase to £26 million. With this funding round, overall investment in Leicester's electric bus programme over the past four years has reached £100 million.

Chinese city of Guangzhou has put 288 newly delivered Zhongtong N7 electric buses into operation across central-city routes, marking another step in the city's full-electric public transport transition. The deployment is reported by Chinese trade media Chinabuses. As the economic center of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangzhou has accelerated the electrification of its public transport system in recent years.

Vy Buss has ordered 73 battery-electric buses from Volvo Buses to support the planned shift to fully electric city operations in the Swedish city of Borås by April 2027. The electric bus procurement covers three vehicle types: 46 Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated units for high-capacity urban corridors, 14 Volvo 7900 Electric models, and 13 Volvo 8900 Electric buses intended for regional routes.

Kiira Motors Corporation has concluded a 1,771-kilometre electric coach run across Tanzania along its journey on the Made in Uganda Grand Trans-Africa Electric Expedition, which is offering the company a detailed set of observations on long-distance electric coach operation in East African conditions. The company was founded a few years ago and is owned by the State of Uganda. It focuses on the development of zero emission vehicles.

The Azadpur bus terminal in Delhi has been inaugurated after a major revamp. The upgraded terminal will operate 116 buses across 21 routes, most of them electric, according to The Times of India. The inauguration also saw the flag-off of 40 new electric buses, part of the city's rapid e-bus expansion, which has added 1,400 vehicles in the past eight months.

Five Polish cities, including Warsaw and Krakow, have ordered Irizar e-mobility electric buses lately, for a total of 80 units. The Spanish brand announces in fact that it has signed several contracts with Polish public transport operators to supply electric buses, with the Irizar ie bus selected in every case. Recently, the company concluded a deal with MZA Warsaw (Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe sp. z o.o.) for ten 10-metre buses.

The manufacturer was awarded in late 2023 a supply of 153 electric buses, as Iveco won the 12-metre lot in the €120 million tender launched by Milan's public transport company, on the strength of an industrial plan to electrify the entire fleet of 1,200 buses by 2030. By 2026, half the fleet is expected to be zero-emission. The 18-meter lot was awarded to Solaris (and deliveries have just begun).

The 12-meter e-ATA delivered in Mersin, a port city on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, are equipped with a 396 kWh battery, allowing a stated range of up to 400 kilometers with a charging time of approximately 2.5 to 3 hours. The buses are designed to carry up to 70 passengers and are powered by an electric motor producing 250 kW and 22,000 Nm of torque.

An EUR 80 million Brazil E-Bus Credit Enhancement Fund has been established to accelerate the deployment of electric buses across Brazilian cities, aiming to introduce more than 1,700 vehicles and associated charging infrastructure by 2030. The fund, unveiled at the COP30 Local Leaders Forum, is expected to mobilize roughly EUR 450 million in private lending. The initiative was launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies in partnership with Brazil's Ministry of Cities and Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, BTG Pactual, the Mitigation Action Facility (MAF), and WRI Brasil.

According to the Ebusco Q3 2025 operational update, the Dutch manufacturer delivered 39 electric buses between July and September, a result consistent with the previous quarter. This brings total deliveries for the year to 86 units, with the company expecting at least the same number of buses to be delivered in the fourth quarter. The company continues to undergo changes in key management positions, with the search for a permanent CEO ongoing, following the resignation of Christian Schreyer in June 2025.

Kreuzlingen is among the first Swiss cities to fully convert its urban bus network to electric operation. By mid-November 2025, eight Solaris Urbino electric buses will be in service, replacing the previous diesel fleet. The new fleet features wood-shell seats designed for durability and ease of cleaning, USB charging ports between seats, and a cashless ticketing system that accepts TWINT and card payments.

When a door broke loose on a new electric bus in Des Moines, Iowa, and nearly fell off, it was one in a long list of problems for the local transit agency. The city began using its fleet of seven electric buses, made by the startup Proterra, in 2021. The vehicles soon showed defects in the suspensions, weatherproofing, and wheelchair ramps. After only 18 months of use-and unsuccessful attempts to get the manufacturer to fix the problems-the agency had to pull them off the road.

A few days after the close of Busworld Europe 2025, it's time to look beyond the spotlights and the crowded stands. Trade fairs are mirrors of ambition as much as of reality, and Brussels offered both - innovation on stage, uncertainty behind the scenes. Here are a few reflections on what this year's edition really revealed about the direction of the bus and coach industry.

Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited ( PMPML) has temporarily halted its plans to procure double-decker electric buses due to recurring issues with existing electric buses, as reported on The Times of India. Issues include frequent breakdowns attributed to battery degradation and challenges posed by Pune's traffic conditions. The first DD battery-electric bus model on offer in the country is the Switch EiV 22 launched in 2022 and delivered, among others, in Mumbai and Hyderabad.