The crisis of the Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hool, its bankruptcy and subsequent takeover by the Dutch group VDL is a story that has monopolised the interest of the bus and coach industry in a 2024 that sees the European bus industry changing shape dramatically.
The Van Hool – VDL story ties in with many others: the difficulties of industrial players in the post-pandemic recovery, the competitiveness of vehicle manufacturing (buses, in this case) in Western Europe (Van Hool has always kept part of its production in Belgium), the strategic and financial upheavals caused by the transition to electric drives. It’s no mystery that European OEMs’ market share in the EU e-bus segment has declined 20% since 2017.
Let’s just mention, as epiphenomenons of such trend, Volvo‘s and Scania‘s decision to move back from complete bus production towards the supply of chassis to bodybuilders (which is easier said than done) and the come back to ‘made in China’ assembly chosen by Ebusco.
