Eastern Europe, an emerging market for coaches

• Eastern European EU states: a more than 60 per cent growth since 2008, with Daimler Buses leading the market with a 35 percent share
• The coach as a cost-effective, comfortable and environmentally friendly means of transport is becoming more and more attractive

Whether as a chartered coach or for use in scheduled long-distance bus transportation – Poland and the Baltic states are becoming increasingly important markets for coaches. Overall, the importance of Eastern Europe for the coach segment has increased significantly over the past decade: In the Eastern European EU states alone, manufacturers were able to sell around 1400 coaches last year. Compared to ten years ago, that's an increase of more than 60 percent. From 2017 to 2018, the market once again increased by more than 11 percent. With a market share of more than 35 percent, Daimler Buses is clearly the market leader – represented by its Setra and Mercedes-Benz brands – in Eastern Europe.

It's fully in trend to take the bus – especially in Eastern Europe, but certainly not only there, as proved by the success of long-distance bus service operators in Western Europe and in the German market after its liberalisation in 2013. There are numerous reasons for the strong growth in eastern Europe: For passengers, the bus traditionally is a cost-effective, comfortable and safe means of transportation. Many medium-sized cities, which are not or only badly connected by train, now have direct bus connections to the major European cities. And the major metropolitan areas are also connected to each other with scheduled bus services that often run several times a day. And finally, the entire regional market for buses is growing in Eastern Europe.

Furthermore, the coach also scores points in terms of climate policy: In Germany, the Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) has certified that coaches have a comparatively low rate of greenhouse gas emissions at around 30 grams of CO₂ per passenger kilometre. By comparison, long-distance railway traffic was certified a CO₂ emissions rate of 45 grams per passenger kilometre.