2020 MARKET ANALYSIS
Exclusively for Buses, PAUL HEELS has again scrutinised the PSV Circle’s monthly newssheets to produce a unique independent analysis of how the competing chassis, body and complete vehicle manufacturers fared last year when the pandemic caused demand for new buses to fall by 26% and for new coaches by 70%
A year ago, we predicted that the 2019 market for new buses and coaches — down by 30% from the peak in 2015 — would look good by comparison with how the coronavirus pandemic was set to decimate deliveries in 2020.
What we could not forecast last spring were the exact numbers. Four successive years of declining sales had already reduced the market from over 4,000 vehicles to around 2,900 in 2019. The pandemic caused a slump of more than 40% to little over 1,600 overall. That figure masks a stark difference between buses and coaches. New bus deliveries fell by 26% to just over 1,260, while coach sales slumped by 70% from nearly 1,200 in 2019 to just over 350.
Least seriously hit were sales of double-deck buses, down by 18% to nearly 800. The shift to double-deckers continued from the previous year. Single-deck bus deliveries fell by more than a third to 465. While double-deck delive…
