Environmental Concerns and Significant Investments Drive Global Electric Buses Market

The concept of vehicles running on electricity is not new. In the early 1900s, nearly 50,000 vehicles of a variety of types driven all across the U.S. used electricity. As time passed and the world found cheaper ways to produce gasoline, the reliance on electric vehicles severely dwindled and the concept of electric vehicles became outdated. Soon all major automotive manufacturers developed engines running on gasoline and other petrochemical fuels and transformed the automobile industry into one of the most carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases generating industry. As the automobile industry flourishes across the globe and the number of petrochemical fuel-run vehicles continues to rise at an alarming pace, concerns regarding the ill-effects of emissions produced by the industry on the environment are rising.

To address these concerns, environmentalists suggest that the automobile industry should shift to electric vehicles again. Thanks to research and development efforts from automobile manufacturers and interventions from government agencies, the market for electric vehicles is being revived. Manufacturers are coming up with many designs for electric vehicles and the demand from consumer end is also promising. One specialty segment of the market for electric vehicles - electric buses market - has garnered noteworthy attention in the past years. Analysts state that the market will expand at an unprecedented 28.0% CAGR between 2014 and 2020. 

What Will Drive the Market?

Public transportation mediums such are buses are an abundant source of pollution and carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. To tackle the pollution arising from public transportation, governments of many countries are investing in buses that lead to no or low pollution, which in turn is driving the global electric bus market.  While high cost of electric buses is a significant limiting factor for these vehicles in developing countries, China has already started taking concrete steps towards the adoption of electric buses.

A large number of electric buses, falling in the categories of pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid electric, are running across the country and the number of such buses is rising at a rapid pace.  As newer and more efficient models of electric buses will enter the market, and the world will have more clarity about the innumerous benefits of electric buses over petroleum fuel-based ones, the demand for electric buses will rise at an impressive pace across the globe.

Of the three key varieties of electric buses currently in the market,  hybrid buses that use conventional fuel and an electric propulsion system, are  currently the most popular. Pure electric buses solely depend on batteries for their operation and are the focal point of research owing to their promise of zero-pollution. Plug-in hybrid buses have a mix of conventional fuel and an electric propulsion system just as hybrid buses, with the difference being the need of an external plug-in power source in the former.  

Many Untapped Opportunities for Businesses with New Ideas

Being in a nascent phase of development, the global electric buses market is currently highly capital intensive. The budding industry does not even feature many companies and is thus a market with both  innumerous growth opportunities and uncertainties. But the rising interest of governments and consumers alike in electric buses has attracted many investors, making the field suitable for companies with excellent ideas and technological expertise. Some of the companies that have forayed in the market are Zhongtong Bus & Holding Co., Ltd, Ashok Leyland, Daimler AG, Solaris Bus & Coach S.A., Proterra, AB Volvo, BYD Company Limited, EBUSCO, Shenzhen Wuzhoulong Motors Co., Ltd, and Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL).