Export of electric buses
Poland has a strong position in the process of decarbonising urban road transport. Electric buses travel from Poland, powering the fleets of mainly European cities.
The public transport market, especially the production of buses, is one of the fastest growing areas of electromobility in Poland. In the era of decarbonisation of urban road transport, this sector in Poland has been developing very dynamically in recent year and we are one of the European leaders.
According to analysts from BloombergNEF, by 2025 the share of electric vehicles in the global city bus fleet is expected to reach 47%. This is beneficial for Poland, which has become a leader in the export of electric buses, primarily due to foreign investments in this sector located in our country.
Production of electric buses
Of all the plants producing zero-emission buses in our country, only Solaris, which was sold to the Spanish CAF group in 2018, has Polish roots. It is thanks to Solaris that we have a strong position in the sale of the Solaris Urbino Electric, which is produced in Bolechów near Poznań. In 2022, the company held second position in the European zero-emission market, with a share of 11.2%. This year should also be very successful, as the Wielkopolska-based company has signed a contract with a carrier from the Italian city of Genoa, exceeding EUR 100 million, for the delivery of 112 18-metre trolleybuses.
Other models produced and exported from Poland are Man with the production of the Lion’s City bus and E.7900 Electric., produced by Volvo, which unfortunately decided to close their factory in Wrocław this year (in its place AIRA, a Swedish company belonging to Northvolt, will produce heat pumps there).
Export data
Poland’s position in the export of electric buses to the European Union is very strong. Between the years 2017 and 2020, we recorded a significant increase in the export of electric buses, from 10% to 46% .
The value of electric buses exported from Poland in 2017-2021 amounted to over EUR 753.3 million. This was 37.9% of the total value of exports of such vehicles from Member States (EUR 1 986.05 million). Most were bought by Germany and Italy .
In 2021, 530 vehicles which can carry more than 10 passengers plus a driver, with an electric motor, left Poland. The value of exports amounted to almost EUR 265.3 million. The largest exports were to Sweden (123), Germany (84), Romania (66) and Italy (62).
In 2022, Polish exports of these vehicles increased by 50% to 795 units, worth over EUR 328.68 million. The largest number went to Sweden (191), Romania (87), Finland (86), Germany (78) and Norway (76).
From January to November 2023, exports amounted to 1085 units worth over EUR 480.8 million. Norway (234), Italy (156), the Netherlands (136), Germany (98) and Spain (96) imported the most.
The future of zero-emission public transport
Poland is already implementing the “Polish Energy Policy until 2040” strategy program, which states that in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, all purchased public transport vehicles from 2025 will be zero-emission.
According to the PSPA report -Poland’s EV Outlook 2022 , by the end of 2021, the largest fleet consisting of 162 e-busses is to be found in the Capital city Warsaw, were E-busses accounted for 11% of the total fleet.
In Kraków it was 13.7% and 79 busses, while in Poznań – 18.3% and 59 busses. Smaller cities, such as Jaworzno (62.9% with 44 units) or Zielona Góra (48.3% and 43 units), could boast a higher percentage. Łódź is also ambitiously pursuing its goals, qualified for the “Climate Neutral and Smart Cities” programme as one of four Polish metropolises out of the 100 awarded cities from across the EU.
In December 2023, the total fleet of electric buses in Poland consisted of 1179 units.
Poland has an excellent track record when it comes to the production and export of electric buses. The introduction of such vehicles into traffic in our cities is also getting better, although we are certainly not yet among the leaders in this process.
According to analysts from BloombergNEF, by 2025 the share of electric vehicles in the global fleet of city buses is expected to account for 47%.
Denmark is one of the European leaders with the largest number of electric buses, with around 80% of them in its public transport fleet. Luxembourg is in second place (around 70%) and the Netherlands is third (around 65%).
In the decarbonisation process, electric buses exported from Poland play an important role, but not only busses. Poland is also one of the world’s leading manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries. We also manufacture charging stations and drive systems for electric cars. The Polish E-mobility industry is at a truly global level. We are the leader in terms of the number and value of investment projects in this sector in Europe.
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