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Promoting the use of electric buses in local public transport

Client

Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK)

Year

2024

Partner

PwC, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu), CP/COMPARTNER Agency for Communication, EEBC European Electrical Bus Company


How can we achieve a shift in local public transport?

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection has been funding the market launch of e-buses since 2018. Together with ifeu, CP/COMPARTNER Agentur für Kommunikation and EEBC European Electrical Bus Company, we investigated how effective this funding has been.

These are the results:

  • Increase in the e-bus fleet: At the beginning of the funding period in 2018, there were only about 200 e-buses in Germany. By 2023, this number had increased to over 2,600 vehicles. Of these, around 1,500 additional e-buses can be directly attributed to the funding program.
  • Broad support: The BMWK funded 50 battery bus projects with 65 transport companies in 13 federal states, providing 478 million euros for this purpose.
  • Strong market position: The market share of German e-bus manufacturers rose from 18.5 percent to 63 percent in the same period. In 2023, 96 percent of the battery buses receiving funding were produced in Germany and Europe.
  • More powerful batteries: Between 2020 and 2023, the average battery capacity increased by about 35 percent – from around 260 to about 350 kilowatt hours.
  • Greater range: The daily mileage of battery buses increased by 27 percent – from 135 to 172 kilometers.

Our approach

Prognos analysed the electric bus market in Germany by means of a comprehensive industry analysis, in which market data on fleet development, market shares and industry structure were evaluated.

In addition, a detailed cost comparison was carried out between electric and diesel buses for different bus categories, which took into account not only the acquisition costs but also the operating and maintenance costs. This determined the extent to which the funding addressed the additional costs for electric buses. This provided crucial insights for the evaluation of the funding measures.

Links and downloads

Study (PDF)

More information at PWC (in German) 

Project team: Alex Auf der Maur, Maike Breitzke, Nils Brüggeshemke, Thomas Hans Berr Craemer, Julia Dick, Ben Gibbels, Alexander Labinsky, Tim Trachsel

Last update: 12.12.2024

Do you have questions?

Your contact at Prognos

Alex Auf der Maur

Senior Project Manager

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