ACEA calls for protection of EU bus manufacturers against Chinese brands
26 October 2026
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has issued a position paper calling on authorities for policy intervention and stricter public procurement rules to protect local bus manufacturers against Chinese competitors.
The number of electric urban transit buses in Europe continues to grow, driven by EU CO2 emission regulations and public transport policies. New EU bus registrations increased by 22.7% in the first half of 2026, while around 60% of newly registered city buses are now battery-electric, according to ACEA.
This growing demand is largely driven by public investment. Most of the approximately 680,000 buses operating in the EU provide services commissioned by public authorities through competitive tenders or public service contracts. In the urban transit bus segment, demand depends entirely on public procurement and funding.
While Europe has a strong bus manufacturing industry, with buses assembled in more than 38 plants across 12 EU member states, an increasing share of public spending on fleet renewal is flowing to manufacturers outside the EU. Chinese brands held 28% of the EU electric bus market in 2025 and 32% of electric city buses (roughly four times the share of Chinese-made cars in EU car sales) and the EU bus trade deficit has widened sharply with imports from China exceeding €1 billion in 2025.
While existing EU public procurement rules already allow authorities to consider criteria beyond price, these provisions are often not used effectively in practice, ACEA noted. As a result, price continues to play the decisive role in many procurement decisions, without sufficiently recognizing the wider value generated in Europe through manufacturing, research and development, innovation, and long-term services.
ACEA’s position paper calls for a decisive action within the next 24 months. Procurement decisions taken before 2030 will shape Europe’s bus manufacturing landscape, service revenues, technological capabilities and industrial base for the following decade; measures arriving only in 2030 risk coming too late.
Source: ACEA