NORTH AMERICA REPORT
During the past few months, we have seen significant changes in the bus market in Europe and North America as operations convert from internal combustion engines to zero-emission buses.
In Europe, Scania and Volvo are moving from building complete buses to a chassis only build. The high cost of zero-emission buses and a competitive market are primary reasons for this. The expected growth of zero-emission buses is forcing the OEMs to better streamline operations, and we expect to see other large OEMs transition down this path.
Source: AMS
In North America, the high cost and complexity of zero-emission vehicles combined with a very competitive market is forcing some of the smaller bus makers out of the market. Last June, Nova Bus announced plans to close their bus plant in Plattsburgh in Q1 2025 and exit the U.S. market. Lack of profitability over the years was cited as the reason for this decision.
Last August, Proterra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, primarily due to a lack of funding, supply chain constraints and lower product demand. While they are continuing operations under the bankruptcy filing, it is currently unknown if they will continue to make electric buses after their current contracts expire.
Volvo recently announced plans to purchase Proterra’s battery business for $210m. This transaction is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.
PSR Analysis: As the bus markets of Europe and North America continue to transition to zero-emission buses, there is certain to be many shakeups in the industry over the next few years as the OEMs continue to exit this segment or streamline operations for maximum cost efficiency. PSR
Chris Fisher is Senior Commercial Vehicle Analyst at Power Systems Research
