China Already Deployed 380,000 Electric Buses

Of the 385,000 electric buses that have been in operation globally in 2017, more than 380,000 are driving in China. That’s already 17 percent of the entire bus fleet in the country and every week another 9,500 electric buses and transporters are added in China, as reported by Bloomberg.

While other countries are still hesitating, China is on the path to switch the entire country to zero emission vehicles. And as a side effect dominate the global market for electric vehicles.

The largest electric bus fleet in Europe is deployed in the Netherlands with 296 buses. German, with a population ten times as large as Austria, has 176 electric buses, Austria 164.

A consequence of the switch to electric buses is reduced fuel consumption. And that is starting to hurt the oil industry. A thousand electric buses replacing Diesel-fueled buses result in 500 barrels fewer oil per day. The number of electric buses already reduced the daily oil consumption by 279,000 barrels, which is equivalent to Greece’s daily energy consumption.

China has been at the forefront of electric bus deployments due to its environmental problems, and that has made it the largest manufacturer of electric buses. Shenzhen has replaced its entire fleet of Diesel buses with electric buses already last year, reaching a total of over 16,000 zero emission vehicles. And the results are reflected in improved air quality.

Other cities are rethinking their public transport as well. London, Paris, Mexico City, or Los Angeles are some of the 13 cities worldwide aiming to start deploying zero emission buses in 2025. London wants to replace all combustion engine buses by 2037.

While a few years ago BYD had been ridiculed at an industry conference when presenting its first electric bus, other manufacturers are nowadays scrambling to add electric buses to their portfolio. But those that can deliver today are Chinese companies. As long as European companies are not starting to show more ambition, Chinese manufacturers will soon be the only companies of relevance.

This article has also been posted in German.