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Six out of ten new EU city buses were zero-emission (ZE) in 2025, as battery-electric and fuel cell powertrains made up 56% and 4% of new sales respectively. This was unimaginable back in 2019 when the Clean Vehicles Directive was first adopted. Back then, electric buses stood at a mere 12% of the market. Now, it is clear that heavy vehicles can go electric, and do so fast.
How soon will the remaining 40% go zero-emission? If the growth rate observed in 2023–25 persists, we could reach 100% ZE city buses by 2028, seven years ahead of the 2035 target. However, past growth was driven by frontrunners powering ahead, with leading cities setting targets to fully electrify their fleets. Now, future ramp-up will come from countries which have so far lagged behind.
The upcoming ZE bus targets set under the CO2 standards, which apply to manufacturers rather than countries, will be key to ensuring trailing markets electrify too. The CO2 standards also include emissions reduction targets for intercity buses and coaches, ensuring longer-distance models follow the trail blazed by their urban counterparts.
Who leads?
Five EU Member States had 100% ZE city buses in 2025: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Slovenia. Another six reached over 90% ZE shares: the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, Belgium, Lithuania, and Romania.
Among major markets (i.e. markets with over 1,000 new city bus sales annually), the United Kingdom is back at the top of the league, with electric powertrains accounting for three out of four new city buses. Italy ranked second place, with nearly two out of three new city buses being zero-emission in 2025, making it the only major EU market ranking above the EU average. In third place, Spain had a ZE share of new city buses of 56%, slightly down from 57% in 2024. Germany ranks 4th, with half of new city buses being zero-emission. France takes last place among major markets, with a ZE share of 42%.
Trends by powertrain
Since 2020, battery-electric buses have each year gained more market share in percentage points than they had in the previous year, showing clear sustained momentum behind electrification.
By contrast, the growth of fuel cell powertrains has been more timid, going from 3% of new EU city buses in 2024 to 4% in 2025. Most fuel cell city buses (62%) were sold in Germany, where hydrogen accounts for nearly one in ten new sales.
Other alternatives to diesel have lost significant ground in 2025. Only 9% of new city buses were hybrid, down from 16% in 2024 and 22% in 2023. Meanwhile, the EU share of gas buses was halved to 7% in 2025, though gas still holds strong in Italy and France (23% of new sales).
Wrapping up the Clean Vehicles Directive phase I
The first phase of the Clean Vehicles Directive (CVD) set ZE bus procurement targets by Member State for the period from August 2nd, 2021 to December 31st, 2025, ranging from at least 13.5% in Croatia, to 22.5% in most Member States.
Looking at cumulative city bus sales since 2021, nearly all countries have met their ZE target, often decarbonising much faster than required.
Overall, two out of five new EU city buses have been ZE since 2021, nearly double the average ZE target of 21.5% applicable in the first phase of the CVD. In the Netherlands, 99.5% of new city buses sold since 2021 have been zero-emission, far exceeding its 22.5% ZE target.
Nonetheless, five countries may have missed their CVD ZE bus target (though compliance should be assessed based on official public tenders, rather than registration data): Czechia, Hungary, Estonia, Slovakia, and Croatia. In Hungary, the ZE market is stuck at 10%, the same uptake as in 2022, despite the country increasingly becoming a hub for e-mobility manufacturing, including e-bus production.
The good news is that the shift is now underway in Czechia, where 26% of new city buses were zero-emission in 2025, and in Estonia, which went from 0% battery-electric in 2023 to 84% in 2024 and 100% in 2025.
Now, let’s hope that the second phase of the CVD and the upcoming 90% ZE target in 2030 will further boost the ZE bus market and provide the impetus for remaining laggards to catch up.
