Truck & Bus Manufacturing in European Union: Market Size, Businesses & Forecast 2026

The Truck & Bus Manufacturing industry in the European Union comprises the engineering, design, and assembly of heavy commercial goods vehicles, medium trucks, and passenger coaches or buses. The sector is currently undergoing a structural transition toward decarbonization driven by strict EU fleet emissions targets, though it faces short-term macroeconomic headwinds. According to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) published in 2025, new truck registrations over 3.5 tonnes in the European Union fell by 6.2% in 2025 to 307,460 units, following a 6.3% decline in 2024, whereas the bus segment demonstrated resilience with new registrations increasing by 9.2% to 3

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What does the Truck & Bus Manufacturing in European Union industry cover?

The industry encompasses the economic activities involved in the complete manufacturing process of medium and heavy commercial vehicles designed for cargo freight or passenger transit. This includes standard rigid trucks, over-the-road tractors for semi-trailers, articulated buses, coaches, and trolleybuses, as well as the production of dedicated vehicle chassis and matching heavy-duty engines. It excludes the production of light commercial vehicles or vans below 3.5 tonnes under specific separate passenger transport definitions, focusing strictly on high-capacity and freight-handling configurations.

• •Covers heavy-duty rigid and semi-trailer tractor units exceeding 16 tonnes.
• •Includes urban public transit buses, intercity coaches, and long-distance passenger transit platforms.
• •Captures the assembly of dedicated zero-emission electric and hydrogen fuel-cell heavy powertrains.

Who operates in the industry and how is it structured?

The European market features a highly consolidated structure dominated by a small circle of specialized heavy automotive groups operating extensive cross-border assembly networks. Industrial operations are typically clustered around key engineering hubs in Western and Central Europe, leveraging shared components, chassis platforms, and powertrain designs across various brand portfolios. These operators sell directly to large logistical fleets, regional transit authorities, municipal entities, and commercial vehicle leasing intermediaries.

• •Production clusters are predominantly anchored in mature automotive manufacturing nations like Germany, France, Sweden, and Spain.
• •The sector acts as an anchor for employment, supporting a portion of the 2.5 million direct automotive manufacturing jobs recorded by the ACEA in 2023.
• •Supply chains rely on long-term capital commitments and highly integrated tier-one component suppliers.

What drives demand in the industry?

Demand for new heavy commercial vehicles is intrinsically tied to macroeconomic indicators, specifically regional GDP growth, manufacturing output, and consumer retail volumes driving road freight logistics. Additionally, the purchasing cycles of logistics companies are heavily impacted by fleet replacement schedules, interest rates for asset financing, and operational fuel efficiency gains. The structural push toward climate neutrality is also compelling transport operators to replace older internal combustion vehicles with zero-emission variants.

• •Weakness in broader European road freight volumes contributed directly to a 6.2% drop in new truck registrations in 2025.
• •Public tender cycles for municipal zero-emission urban buses drove a 9.2% increase in new EU bus registrations in 2024.
• •The average age of trucks and buses in the EU stood at 13.9 years and 12.5 years respectively according to 2022 fleet statistics.

Who are the notable companies in the industry?

Competition within the EU truck and bus manufacturing space is intense and characterized by high entry barriers due to massive capital and R&D requirements for alternative powertrains. The market is controlled by long-established European legacy manufacturers that operate multiple localized assembly plants and specialized bodywork partnerships across different member states. These organizations compete primarily on total cost of ownership (TCO), network reliability, fuel economy, and corporate fleet sustainability metrics.

• •Volvo Group (AB Volvo) maintains a prominent position in the heavy-duty segment via its Volvo Trucks and Renault Trucks operations.
• •Daimler Truck Holding AG operates as an independent public entity managing the Mercedes-Benz truck brand and EvoBus divisions.
• •Traton SE, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, controls major European heavy commercial brands Scania and MAN Truck & Bus.
• •Iveco Group N.V. remains an independent competitor driving local manufacturing across both heavy freight trucks and urban transit buses.

What are the recent trends and outlook?

The current trajectory of the industry reflects a bifurcated market balancing near-term cyclical downturns in freight demand against accelerating technology transitions. Although diesel powertrains continue to represent the vast majority of total sales volumes, the deployment of battery-electric medium and heavy trucks is steadily increasing. Manufacturers are prioritizing product lines capable of satisfying regional logistical requirements while navigating rising input costs and supply uncertainties.

• •Diesel models maintained a 95.1% share of new EU truck registrations in 2024, showing the continuing reliance on traditional fuels.
• •Electrically chargeable truck market share increased from 2.3% in 2024 to 4.8% in 2025 across the European market according to ACEA reporting.
• •Battery-electric architectures secured an 18.5% market share within the new EU bus registration segment in 2024.

How is the industry regulated?

The regulatory landscape inside the European Union is one of the strictest globally, acting as the primary catalyst for product engineering transformations. Manufacturers must comply with tightening fleet-wide CO2 reduction mandates alongside stringent vehicle safety standards and hazardous materials restrictions. Failure to achieve mandatory fleet emission reduction targets subjects operators to steep financial penalties, forcing a rapid reallocation of corporate capital toward electrification.

• •Regulation (EU) 2024/1610 establishes stringent updated CO2 emission performance standards for new heavy-duty vehicles.
• •The General Safety Regulation (GSR) mandates the inclusion of advanced driver assistance systems across all commercial vehicle architectures.
• •Urban access constraints and zero-emission zones across EU cities dictate the transition of municipal bus fleets away from internal combustion engines.

Government, statistical and trade sources used for this Claight analysis.

• ACEA Automobile Industry Pocket Guide 2025/2026 ·
• ACEA Commercial Vehicle Registrations Press Release 2025 ·
• Eurostat NACE Rev. 2 Statistical Classification ·
• Official Journal of the European Union (Regulation EU 2024/1610)