NOW on electric buses: Traffic transition is slow - funding stop has a fatal impact
According to current figures from NOW GmbH, based on data from the KBA, of the 456 buses registered in Germany in July, 86 (18.9%) had a fully electric drive and 21 (4.61%) had a fuel cell drive. Assuming that about half of these were city buses, the quota of 45% clean buses for new registrations specified by the EU's Clean Vehicles Directive (CVD) would be met. In that case, all would be "emission-free" and not just "clean" - the CVD requires 22.5% from each category. However, in early 2026, the required quota rises to 65% clean city buses, with 32.5% each "clean" and "emission-free." This increases the procurement requirements for transport companies. "Clean" primarily includes CNG, LNG, LPG, and biomethane buses, none of which were registered in July 2024.
Only 3.29% with fully electric drive
The slow progress of the traffic transition in the bus sector is evident from the overall picture of all registered vehicles. Of the 85,258 coaches, intercity and city buses registered in Germany as of April 1, 2024, only 3.29% or 2,809 had fully electric drive and 219 or 0.26% had hydrogen drive. Plug-in hybrids (6 or 0.007%) play no role at all. However, mild hybrids (6,287 or 7.37%) and natural gas buses (739 or 0.87%) have a measurable share. To make bus traffic in Germany truly clean, there are likely to be significant challenges and it will probably take more than 20 years. This is because the electrification of intercity and coach buses is still largely pending.
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