Bus & coach registrations shrink almost a fifth in Q3 2021

The UK new bus and coach market fell by 19.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2021. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) calls this result “a deeply disappointing decline following a 2020 performance devastated by Covid.”

Single-deck buses were the only vehicle type that saw growth, increasing by 5.2 per cent, whilst double-deck buses declined significantly by 63.6 per cent, to just 76 new registrations. The number of new buses and coaches registered in the third quarter remains 37.0 per cent down on pre-pandemic 2019, with long-term low passenger numbers continuing to impact demand for vehicles.

Year to date, registrations are 10.2 per cent lower than during the first nine months of 2020, with just 2,584 new buses and coaches registered so far this year, 293 units fewer year-on-year.

“The decline in bus and coach figures during the third quarter of the year is incredibly disappointing, especially when viewed against the same period in 2020, when the country was still struggling to recover from the effects of pandemic induced lockdowns,” says Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. “Whilst lockdowns have ended and workers have begun returning to the office as the economy continues to be fully open, the sector is still struggling, with dwindling passenger numbers leading to operators hesitant to place new orders. This sector also continues to wait for the promised investment from the government for new zero emission buses to flow through, with such funding necessary to stimulate confidence and deliver environmental goals.”