Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods and Data
2.1. Defining the Total Cost of Ownership
2.2. Scope of the Study and Boundaries
- To give an overview of the TCO of electric buses across the countries of Europe;
- To identify the most important parameters affecting the TCO of electric buses;
- To provide guiding estimates for the financing of electric bus procurement.
- Vehicle cost: This includes the cost of the initial purchase of the vehicle, from which the vehicle’s residual value at the end of the analysis time-frame is deducted. We assume the vehicle to be drivable and in good condition at the end of the analysis horizon and thus implicitly assume maintenance and repairs. We also assume a depreciation of the vehicle value over this horizon.
- Financing costs: Financing costs are associated with the payment of interest beyond the retail price of the vehicle.
- Charging costs: Costs of charging cover the cost of charging infrastructure as well as the costs of electricity. Electricity costs are proportional to bus driven distance, route characteristics, vehicle efficiency, ancillary loads (like heating and cooling), and the electricity unit price. In some cases, electricity costs may vary over the course of the day or year, leading to the timing of charging rather than the scale of energy used for charging to also influence the charging costs.
- Maintenance and repair costs: These costs cover scheduled vehicle servicing (maintenance) and unscheduled vehicle servicing (repair).
2.3. Calculation of the TCO
- i is the year of the cash flow,
- d is the discount rate accounting for opportunity cost in %, and
- is the cash flow in the year in real inflation adjusted Euros (€).
2.4. Analysis Time-Frame and Vehicle Lifetime
2.5. Purchase Costs of Electric Buses and Charging Infrastructure
Charger Type | Purchase Cost (€) | Project Costs (€) | Civil Works (€) | Opex (€/Year) | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AC 11 kW | 1800 | 370 | 90 | 90 | Tettero et al. [26] |
AC 22 kW | 2100 | 370 | 105 | 434 | Tettero et al. [26] |
DC 50 * kW | 17,500 | 1600 | 7000 | 1745 | Tettero et al. [26] |
DC 150 kW | 52,500 | 4200 | 21,000 | 4895 | Tettero et al. [26] |
DC 350 kW | 122,500 | 4200 | 49,000 | 11,195 | Tettero et al. [26] |
Pantograph charging (300 to 450 kW) | 457,000 | 58,500 | 5000 | Kim et al. [9] |
2.6. Energy Requirements for Electric Buses
2.7. Cost of Electricity
2.8. Inflation, Discount Rates, Vehicle Depreciation, Battery Replacement and Salvage Value
- is the refurbishment cost factor of 15%,
- is the used product discount factor of 15%,
- is the battery health factor, beginning with 0% in the first year and increasing by 3% per year,
- is the cost per usable kWh of battery pack capacity for a new battery in the year the pack is salvaged, sourced from Greenwood [41], and
- is the ratio of the retail price to manufacturing cost, taken as 1.5 retail price equivalent.
2.9. Debt Financing and Interest Repayment
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe
3.2. Sensitivity of TCO per km of Operation
3.3. Risks and Uncertainties in Bus TCO Calculations
3.4. Comparison with Diesel
3.5. Limitations of This Work
3.6. Directions for Future Research
- Assessing the different subsidy schemes in the different European countries and regions to provide more accurate TCO calculation for specific locations.
- Including grid capacity/connection costs, which are very location dependent, even within countries.
- Conducting a more extensive sensitivity analysis on the cost drivers aside from electricity cost, discount rate and contract duration that we have considered here. Scenario analysis of future electricity costs would be particularly valuable.
- Consider en route charging with pantograph or trolleybus configurations to consider a wider range of technical choices for bus transport systems.
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
AC | Alternating Current |
ACEA | European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association |
CNG | Compressed Natural Gas |
DC | Direct Current |
GBP | Great Britain Pound |
GVW | Gross Vehicle Weight |
LCC | Life-Cycle Cost |
LPG | Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
EU | European Union |
TCO | Total Cost of Ownership |
TRY | Turkish Lira |
UK | United Kingdom |
USA | United States of America |
VAT | Value Added Tax |
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TCO Timeframe of Analysis | Study Location/Scope | Year of Study | Source |
---|---|---|---|
10 years | Bratislava, Slovakia | 2018 | Potkány et al. [6] |
12 years | US and EU | 2016 | Lajunen and Lipman [5] |
12 years | Offenburg, Germany | 2021 | Kim et al. [9] |
14 years | Poland | 2024 | Boratyńska-Karpiej et al. [12] |
15 years | E-buses with batteries ranging from 110 kWh to 350 kWh globally | 2018 | O’Donovan et al. [7] |
15 years | Jakarta, Indonesia | 2023 | Triatmojo et al. [10] |
Location | Electric Bus Contract Duration (Years) | Diesel Bus Contract Duration (Years) |
---|---|---|
Indonesia (Jakarta) | 10 | 7 |
India | 10–16 | 7 |
Chile (Santiago) | 10–14 | 5–7 |
China (Shenzhen) | 8 | 8 |
Colombia (Bogotá) | 14 | 10 |
Bus Type | Purchase Cost (€) | Source |
---|---|---|
Pantograph charging 12 m bus | 390k | Kim et al. [9] |
Depot charging 12 m bus | 473.4k * | Kim et al. [9] |
Depot charging 9–10 m bus | 550k | Sustainable Bus [21], AutoBus Web [22] |
Depot charging 11 m bus | 575k | Sustainable Bus [21], AutoBus Web [22] |
Depot charging 12 m bus | 600k ** | Sustainable Bus [21], AutoBus Web [22] |
Depot charging 18 m bus articulated | 800.5k | Sustainable Bus [21], AutoBus Web [22] |
Annual Energy Consumption (MWh) | Bus Type | Year | Annual Driven Distance (km) | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
64 * | Generic 13.5 m bus electric transit bus | 2024 | 40,000 * | Razy-Yanuv and Meron [13] |
72 | Operational buses in Germany | 2021 | NA | Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany [30] |
72 | Operational buses in Germany | 2024 | NA | Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Germany [31] |
87 | Proterra 10.6 m electric city bus | 2016 | 64,000 | Eudy et al. [32], Aamodt et al. [33] |
91.5 | SOR NS 12 m electric city bus [34] | 2018 | 72,072 | Potkány et al. [6] |
≈100 | BYD-inspired simulated depot charging bus with 330 kWh battery | 2016 | 66,000 | Lajunen and Lipman [5] |
36 to 104 ** | Various (battery sizes ranging from 110 kWh to 350 kWh) | 2018 | 30,000 to 80,000 ** | O’Donovan et al. [7] |
Parameter | Electricity Cost Including Taxes and VAT (€/MWh) | Country |
---|---|---|
Minimum | 103.8 | Türkiye |
25th percentile | 147.8 | Latvia |
Median | 189.3 | Slovenia |
75th percentile | 224.7 | Croatia |
Maximum | 414.5 | United Kingdom |
Battery Lifetime Before Replacement | Year of Study | Source |
---|---|---|
6 years | 2020 | Meishner and Sauer [8] |
6.5 to 7 years | 2021 | Kim et al. [9] |
7 to 8 years | 2023 | Triatmojo et al. [10] |
About 8 years | 2024 | Boratyńska-Karpiej et al. [12] |
10 years | 2016 | Lajunen and Lipman [5] |
10 years | 2018 | Potkány et al. [6] |
Parameter | Lower Bound | Upper Bound |
---|---|---|
Unit purchase cost of a 12 m bus | €473,000 | €600,000 |
Annual distance driven per bus | 40,000 km | 80,000 km |
Annual energy consumption per bus | 64 MWh | 104 MWh |
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© 2025 by the authors. Published by MDPI on behalf of the World Electric Vehicle Association. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Ghotge, R.; van Rooij, D.; van Breukelen, S. Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe. World Electr. Veh. J. 2025, 16, 464. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj16080464
Ghotge R, van Rooij D, van Breukelen S. Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe. World Electric Vehicle Journal. 2025; 16(8):464. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj16080464
Chicago/Turabian StyleGhotge, Rishabh, Daan van Rooij, and Sanne van Breukelen. 2025. "Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe" World Electric Vehicle Journal 16, no. 8: 464. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj16080464
APA StyleGhotge, R., van Rooij, D., & van Breukelen, S. (2025). Total Cost of Ownership of Electric Buses in Europe. World Electric Vehicle Journal, 16(8), 464. https://doi.org/10.3390/wevj16080464