Why the outlook for Brazil’s electric bus market is positive

The outlook for Brazil’s electric bus market is positive, according to Bruno Paiva, bus sales director of Chinese EV manufacturer BYD.

Paiva expects growth particularly in the cities of São Paulo, Goiânia (Goiás state) and Curitiba (Paraná). 

“We see today that talks are taking place between bus companies and city halls. The sector is in full swing,” he told BNamericas.

Last October, BYD opened a complex in Bahia state to manufacture electric bus and truck chassis, as well as electric and hybrid passenger vehicles.

The executive highlighted that a federal initiative approved in May – part of acceleration program PAC – provides for the acquisition of more than 2,000 electric buses in several Brazilian cities. 

Through the Mover electromobility program, the government will grant fiscal incentives for the production of vehicles with lower greenhouse gas emissions.  

Paiva said the main challenge is to get the energy into the garages of the bus companies, which are investing in charging facilities but are running up against infrastructure limits. 

“In general, these companies are connected to low voltage, and the ideal is to upgrade to high voltage, which requires investment in substations,” he said.

In Latin America, Paiva highlighted two countries as prominent in the electric bus market: Colombia and Chile, which, according to E-Bus Radar, have 1,590 and 2,659 such vehicles operating, respectively.

The executive emphasized that in both cases there was strong support from the government and an agreement with the distributors to make the business viable. 

“There is a company in Colombia with two stations totaling 15MW that allows it to charge almost 400 buses simultaneously,” said Paiva. 

According to the E-Bus Radar platform, there are 602 electric buses in circulation in Brazil, 467 of them manufactured by Eletra, 81 by BYD, 23 by Powertronics, 15 by Higher Bus Company, nine by Marcopolo, one by Volvo and six by other companies. 

The Eletra fleet comprises the so-called Trólebus, which are vehicles that operate connected to an overhead electric cable.

PROMINENT CASES

São Paulo 

In September 2023, the municipality of São Paulo took delivery of 50 new battery-electric buses, bringing the number of electric vehicles in circulation to 270. 

The city's goal is to have 20% of its bus fleet powered by sustainable energy by the end of 2024. That would mean 2,400 such vehicles in the city, taking Brazil to second in the world rankings for the electrification of bus fleets behind China. 

Goiás 

In July this year, BYD and CCR Aeroportos began testing the D9W electric bus for passenger transportation at Goiânia airport in Goiás. 

The tests are due to last 60 days. The bus is zero-emissions and totally silent and will be used for boarding and disembarking passengers.

The D9W model can carry 80 passengers. It has a range of 250km, which allows it to run all day without needing to recharge the battery.