Leading Chinese bus makers have carved out roughly a third of Europe's electric bus market, riding surging demand for zero-emission transport as the European Union pushes for 100-percent electrification of its urban bus fleets by 2028.
The scale of the Chinese advance was on show at the International Bus and Coach Trade Fair 2026 (FIAA 2026), held in Madrid from Sept. 22 to 24, where manufacturers including Higer and BYD presented the latest in battery technology and longer ranges at lower prices.
Beyond the fairground, soaring diesel costs and the bloc's net-zero targets are fueling a boom that has made Europe the world's second-largest electric bus market, behind only China.
An electric bus, however, still costs from half a million to three quarters of a million dollars -- roughly twice as much as a conventional diesel model. Over a 15-year life cycle, though, cities can save nearly one million dollars per bus in lower maintenance costs, exhibitors said, translating the higher purchase price into a lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
"Europe is the most advanced bus market here. They have very high requirements about safety, about the service, about the TCO. So, if we could meet the requirements of the European market, actually, it's very important for us to promote or develop ourselves," said George Zhang, deputy director of overseas markets at Higer Bus Company Limited.
Beyond the buses themselves, exhibitors from Chinese tech company Streamax said artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly integrated into transport systems, with the company having fitted more than five million vehicles worldwide and built a major presence in Europe.
"We are using AI to actually save lives, like safety around the vehicle. How do we improve the safety of vulnerable users on the road with blind spot monitoring solutions, able to detect people and prevent accidents. Also, other scenarios like fatigue monitoring. How do we make sure that drivers go safe at home with their family at the end of the day to make sure that they don't fall asleep while driving? So it's including vision and artificial intelligence to be able to detect those scenarios," said Christopher Jegou, business development manager at Streamax Technology.
Chinese bus makers power Europe's shift to electric transport
