Luxembourg is one of the European leaders in the transition to zero-emission city buses. In 2024, 98% of new buses registered in the country were electric, according to the latest from the NGO Transport & Environment (T&E). This is a clear improvement on the figure for 2023, when the rate was 61%. With this result, Luxembourg ranks fifth in Europe, just behind Norway (99%) and three countries with a perfect score: the Netherlands, Iceland and Finland (100%).
Of the 244 new buses registered in 2024, 238 run on electric power, while four use compressed natural gas (CNG-NGT) and two are hybrids. Since 2021, 81% of Luxembourg’s new buses have been electric, and no diesel buses have been added to the fleet since that date. This figure illustrates the country’s determination to electrify its entire fleet by 2030.
A sector ahead of the regulations
Across Europe, almost one in two new city buses (49%) is now zero-emission, exceeding T&E’s forecasts. This rapid progress makes city buses one of the first successes of the Green Deal for Europe. Faster-than-expected adoption of hydrogen-powered buses (3% of new city buses in 2024) partly explains this growth, even though battery-electric buses largely dominate the market, accounting for 46% of registrations.
While the overall trend is positive, some countries are lagging behind. Greece (9%), Lithuania (5%), Hungary (4%) and Slovakia (0%) have the lowest rates of adoption of zero-emission buses. Estonia, on the other hand, stands out for its dazzling progress: 84% of new buses were electric in 2024, compared with 0% the previous year.
Unlike the market for electric cars, the transition to zero-emission urban buses is proceeding faster than the regulatory requirements. At this rate, all sales could be zero-emission by 2027, according to the study, well ahead of the 2035 deadline imposed by the EU.
Among the major markets (i.e. those with more than 1,000 annual registrations), Spain leads the way with 57% of buses being zero-emission, just ahead of the UK (56%). Italy follows at 44%, below the European average of 49%. France and Germany bring up the rear with around a third of their new registrations.
This article in French.