Public transport and long-distance coaches CO2 emissions: Analysis of heavy public buses produced by ACEA manufacturers for the second quarter/third quarter of 2024

June2026 BusandcoachCO2emissions Analysis of heavy busesproduced byACEAmanufacturers in KEY MESSAGES 1.For the first time,bus and coach CO2 emission fleet data based on VECTO arepublished in this report for a wide range of vehicles, including a big range of key 2.Whereas for urban buses with very positive enabling conditions there is already ahigh share of up to 45% zero-emission vehicles, there are almost no zero-emission 3.The averageCO2 emissions ofbusesand coaches–around16 to 32 grams perpassenger perkilometre(g/pkm), depending on the vehicle category–are already CONTEXTAND BACKGROUND Since 1January2024,heavy buses (M31of>7.5t)havebeen subjectto the legal CO2declaration withthe Vehicle Energy Consumption Calculation ToolVECTO2.Thedeclarationprocedure had been in placefor various heavy lorry configurations since 1January2019 and Consequently,those buses and coaches have been madesubject totheCO2 emissionperformance standards regulation for new heavy-duty vehicles (EU) 2019/1242.Thisregulationapplies a zero-emission vehicle mandate of 90% in 2030 and100% in 2035 for allurban buses.Interurban buses and coachesare subject tothe same CO2 reduction targetsas heavy lorries, ie43%by2030, 64%by2035,and 90%by2040. However,unlikelorries, The monitoring and reporting for buses and coaches officially starts for the reporting period20243.Based on the experiences with the trucks,and taking intoaccountthe more complex ACEA’s target was to gain knowledgein this specific field, to dive into the mechanisms andparticular calculation approaches for CO2 standards,and to have a first overview of themarket situationand characteristic values forbuses and coaches.In order to havea firstindication of reference CO2 emissions for the different bus subgroups, ACEA started an early CUSTOMER INFORMATION FILE: REQUIRED FOR VEHICLE The legal CO2 declaration usingVECTOis not only applicabletoconventional vehicles,buttoa big varietyofpropulsion technologies.For allin-scope vehicles,CO2 emissions in“grams CO2 per tonkilometre(g/tkm)” (trucks) or “grams CO2 per passengerperkilometre(g/pkm)”(buses) are calculated. When it comes to zero-emission vehicles,the electricenergy consumption in kWh/tkm or kWh/pkmand correspondingrange valuesare calculated. FACTOR METHOD APPROACH:REFLECTING THE BUSAND Typical busandcoach business cases and the correspondingdata flow can be followed up On the one hand, a very high share of buses and coaches is producedas complete vehiclesby one single OEM. On the other hand, there is a relevant shareof vehicles built in a multi-step approach, wherea chassis or incomplete vehicle is delivered by, for instance,thechassis manufacturer,and completed with the final body or relevant equipment byasubsequent, mostly much smaller manufacturer. Therefore, allbuses and coaches are Step 1: Primaryvehiclecalculation In the first step,only the main powertrain components are considered,such as the engine,electric machines and high-voltage batteries, transmissions, driven axles,and tyres.Depending on the axle configuration,the vehicle is then simulated with differentgenericvirtual bodiesacross corresponding missions,generating the vehicle information file (VIF). Step 2: Complete(d)vehiclecalculation The relevant characteristic body data is used to determine the final vehicle group allocationandthemissions to be calculated. For example,city busesaremainlyassignedtoheavyurban, urban,and suburban missions,whilecoachesaresimulated in interurban and coach COMPLETE(D)VSPRIMARYVEHICLES: WHERE DOTHE The CO2 standardsrefer tothe complete(d) vehicleVECTO results,butapplytothecorrespondingprimary vehicle manufacturers. They areusually a smallernumber of biggerOEMs compared toa very big number ofsmaller subsequent bodybuilders with more limitedimpact on the overall energy consumption and emissions.Nevertheless, incase of multi-stage vehicles, the primary OEM could also request the primary vehicle values to be taken VECTObusand coachvehiclesegmentation Complete(d)vehicles areallocatedto groups 31a to 40f for thelegal declaration according toEU2017/24005andmerged to the16standard groups31-LFto 39-FEaccording to EU2024/16106.The main differentiation is done between bodylayouts,such as low floor and big benefit of thisstructureis that itallows tocalculateall vehicles that are legally possible to However,an examination ofvehicles in operationrevealsthat asmall number ofgroupsaccount fora verylargeshare ofthe overall fleet, whereas other groups areeitherrare orentirely absent.Thisisreflectedin thestandard groups 31-LF to 39-FE, wheredeclaration Arelevantexample can befound amonglow-floor and low-entry vehicles7.Withinthe 2-axlesegment,there is a big variety and asignificantnumber of vehicleswith very specificdesigns,resulting infourgroups:31-LF, 31-L1, 31-L2,and 31-DD. In contrast,there is a very Figure2showsnot only all existing groups, but also themost important oneson the marketthat areincludedinthis analysisandwill bede