In Q1/20, the Russian bus market (GVW>5t) registered 3,448 new buses, which was 29.9% more than 2,655 vehicles in the same period of 2019, according to LLC Avtostat Info.

In the first quarter of 2020, Russia registered 22,342 new light commercial vehicles, which was fractionally up (+0.6%) on the same period last year, according to LLC Avtostat Info.

Despite March figures, which recorded a fall in the sales of new trailers and semi-trailers of 9.6%, the market for the first quarter this year recorded an overall gain of 8.4%, according to Russian Automotive Market Research.

Sales of medium- and heavy-duty rigid trucks in India witnessed a vast contraction of 61.5% in the fourth quarter of FY2019-20 to register just 30,973 units, down from 80,355 units during the same quarter of the previous year (2018-19).

At ABA Marketplace and Busworld North America conference held in Omaha, Nebraska, USA in January 2020, Jan Deman, President Busworld Academy, said:  “As Busworld, we stand at a crossroads, where bus manufacturers, operators, authorities and knowledge institutions meet, and from this point we notice that never before in our industry so many initiatives have been taken to exchange ideas and insights as today.

Eastern Europe is significant in terms of the bus industry because of the number of buses on the roads, said Anna Ozdelen, Principal Consultant at Consul People, speaking at Busworld Turkey last month.

Automotive production in Turkey has been declining in 2018 and 2019, but compared with other automotive segments, the bus and coach segment has proven to be more resilient.

While there have been tenders during the last few years for electric buses in Turkey, which have then later been cancelled due to the recession, the CNG market remains in better shape, according to Cenk Yavuz, territory manager, Turkey for on-highway business of Turkey Engine Power Systems Ltd of Izmir.

The number of electric bus deliveries in Western Europe and Poland increased threefold in 2019 to 1,697 units from 548 units delivered in the previous year, according the Wim Chatrou of Chatrou CME Solutions.

The heavy truck market in the European Union plus EFTA countries has grown five straight years in a row to total 321,785 units in 2019, according to figures collated by ACEA.

A pair of FUSO eCanter 7.49t electric delivery trucks have entered service with operators in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the first in Scandinavia: One has joined the fleet of Citylogistik and the other is with Aastiderne, two well-known Danish transport operators.

Transit buses, school buses and intercity / tour coach segments are on different trajectories when looking at global bus demand, stated Veerender Kaul, global vice-president commercial mobility at Frost and Sullivan talking at Busworld Academy North America about the global and North American bus and coach markets.