FACT SHEET NORTH AMERICA

SEPTEMBER 2022

Zero-emission bus and truck

market in the United States and
Canada: A 2021 update
Claire Buysse

This fact sheet provides an overview of the 2021 market for new zero-emission heavy-
duty vehicles (HDVs) in the United States and Canada—including buses, heavy trucks,
and medium trucks and vans.1

The global market for zero-emission HDVs rebounded in 2021, returning to 2019 levels
after a 34% drop in sales during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 2 This
rebound was driven by the Chinese market, which has accounted for nearly 92% of
zero-emission HDV sales since 2019 and 97% since 2012.

Latin America
0.5%
Africa
0.3%
US & Canada China
0.9% 91.7%

Europe
4.3%
Asia except China
2.3%

Figure 1. Shares of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle sales by region in 2019–2021

1 Buses refers to all buses. Heavy trucks include Class 8 trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating greater
than 33,000 lbs, and medium trucks and vans include Class 4–7 trucks and vans with a gross vehicle
weight rating of 14,001–33,000 lbs. Medium trucks and vans are separated into two vehicle groups when
enough vehicle data is available to differentiate. The vehicle market in the United States and Canada is
referred to as the North American market while Mexico is included in the Latin American market.
2 Zero-emission commercial vehicle sales obtained from EV-Volumes, https://www.ev-volumes.com/datacenter/.
220K
207K
200K

180K 178K

160K
148K

140K
127K
119K 117K
120K

100K

79K
80K

60K China
Asia except China
Europe
40K
29K US and Canada
Latin America
20K
Africa
2K 4K Other
0K
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Figure 2. Global zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle sales

Zero-emission HDV sales in the United States and Canada trended in the opposite
direction, however, shrinking by 36% in 2021 after recording a banner year in 2020. This
mimics the trend in conventional HDV sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. 3 Despite
this, both the United States and Canada recorded a substantial increase in the sale of
zero-emission heavy trucks, with 101 units sold compared to only 46 in 2019 and 2020
combined. Zero-emission bus sales cooled to 624 units in 2021, down from more than
1,000 units sold in 2020. Sales of zero-emission medium trucks and vans also cooled
from 236 to 96.

3 CALSTART, “Zeroing in on Zero-Emission Trucks,” (June 2022), https://calstart.org/wp-content/

uploads/2022/07/ZIO-ZETs-June-2022-Market-Update.pdf; Christiane Stein, “Global Bus Market Will See
Double-Digit Growth in the next 3 Years,” IHS Markit, (February 11, 2021), https://ihsmarkit.com/research-
analysis/global-bus-market-will-see-double-digit-growth-in-next-3-years.html.

2 ICCT FACT SHEET | ZERO-EMISSION BUS AND TRUCK MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A 2021 UPDATE
 United States Canada

1000
Buses
900 Heavy trucks
Medium trucks & vans

800

700

600

500

400
492

300

200

132
100 51

75 50
0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Figure 3. Zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle sales in North America

Most zero-emission HDVs sold globally to date have utilized battery-electric

technology. Of those sold in North America, battery sizes range widely from sub-100
kWh for medium trucks and vans up to nearly 700 kWh for the largest trucks and
buses sold in 2021. A small portion of fuel cell powertrains have broken onto the scene
in the last few years, particularly in the budding heavy truck market.

2021 Since 2012

1%
7% 5% Fuel cell
Battery electric

100% 100% 99% 100%

93% 95%

Buses Heavy Medium Buses Heavy Medium

trucks trucks & vans trucks trucks & vans

Figure 4. Technology shares of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicle sales in North America

3 ICCT FACT SHEET | ZERO-EMISSION BUS AND TRUCK MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A 2021 UPDATE
 700
HDV sales

50

600

100

500
150
446 kWh
Battery size (kWh)

400

306 kWh
300

200
176 kWh

100

0
Buses Heavy trucks Medium
trucks & vans

Figure 5. Battery size distribution of battery-electric heavy-duty vehicle sales in North America
in 2021

The registration of zero-emission HDVs has not kept pace with sales. This is likely
due, at least in part, to supply chain disruptions and delays in vehicle delivery and
infrastructure readiness. While EV-Volumes reported 618 zero-emission HDV sales in
the United States in 2021, IHS Markit reported only 174 newly registered zero-emission
HDVs. 4 Overall, including both conventional and zero-emission technologies, new HDV
registrations are dominated by medium and heavy trucks, together representing 87%
of new registrations in 2021. Buses represented less than 4% of the HDV market but
accounted for nearly 80% of zero-emission sales and new registrations.

4 New U.S. registrations obtained from IHS-Markit Global S.à.r.l ©.

4 ICCT FACT SHEET | ZERO-EMISSION BUS AND TRUCK MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A 2021 UPDATE
 Unknown
0.9%

Medium
Heavy trucks Medium trucks Buses
vans
46.6% 40.4% 3.6%
8.5%

0K 50K 100K 150K 200K 250K 300K 350K 400K 450K

New registrations

Figure 6. New heavy-duty vehicle registrations in the United States by vehicle group in 2021

Conventional technology Alternative technology

Battery
Gasoline Diesel electric Natural gas LPG

Buses 11.3% 83.3% 0.8% 1.4% 3.1%

Heavy trucks 97.0% 2.2%

Medium
34.9% 64.7%
trucks & vans

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0%

Figure 7. Conventional and alternative technology shares of new heavy-duty vehicle registrations
in 2021

Many legacy manufacturers have entered the zero-emission market alongside newer
all-electric manufacturers. The contrast is particularly stark in the bus market, in
which new all-electric players like Proterra, GreenPower, and NFI subsidiary New Flyer
accounted for more than 90% of zero-emission sales over the last few years. Legacy
manufacturers accounted for a slightly larger share of the zero-emission market for
heavy trucks (26%), and even more for medium trucks and vans (56%).

5 ICCT FACT SHEET | ZERO-EMISSION BUS AND TRUCK MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A 2021 UPDATE
Buses Daimler 47.0%
2.6%

Navistar 46.2%
0.8%

Blue Bird Corp

11.0%

Lion Electric
11.8%

BYD 0.1%
12.2%

NFI
15.1%

GreenPower
16.9%

Proterra
25.6%
Overall market share, 2021
6.7% Zero-emission market share, 2019–2021
Other
4.0%

Heavy Daimler 38.5%

trucks
Paccar 30.6%
10.2%

Volvo 16.6%
15.6%

Navistar 11.0%

BYD
30.6%

Lion Electric 40.8%

Other 3.3%
2.7%

Medium Ford 42.7%

trucks
& vans Daimler 17.1%
47.6%

Stellantis 9.1%

Navistar 8.4%

Isuzu 7.9%

General Motors 7.7%

Paccar 4.8%
8.2%

Lion Electric
4.3%

Motiv Power
7.8%

SEA Electric
28.9%

Other 2.3%
3.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Figure 8. North American heavy-duty vehicle market share by manufacturer

6 ICCT FACT SHEET | ZERO-EMISSION BUS AND TRUCK MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A 2021 UPDATE
Of zero-emission HDVs sold in North America since 2019, roughly 61% were
manufactured locally in their country of sale. In both the United States and Canada, the
next highest country of origin is the respective other: Canada accounted for 22% of the
United States market and the United States accounted for 39% of the Canadian market.
Medium trucks and vans are the only vehicle group not dominated by North American
manufacturing, owing to production in Japan by Mitsubishi and Hino in roughly equal
shares. This share is expected to decline as Mitsubishi exited the North American HDV
market in 2020. 5

Buses USA 63.2%

Canada 36.2%

Belgium 0.6%

Turkey 0.1%

Heavy USA 48.3%

trucks
Canada 40.8%

Sweden 10.9%

Medium Japan 60.8%

trucks &
vans USA 34.8%

Canada 4.3%

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
Zero-emission HDV sales

Figure 9. Chassis origin of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles sold in North America in 2019–2021

There are currently 34 manufacturing plants producing zero-emission HDVs in the

United States and Canada. 6 Of these, 13 are fully zero-emission production lines. Buses
are manufactured at 21 plants, consisting of 3 producing only zero-emission buses, 6
producing zero-emission buses alongside other zero-emission vehicle types, and 12
producing zero-emission buses alongside conventional buses.

The production of zero-emission HDVs in the United States is distributed across the
lower 48 states, with a notable concentration of manufacturing plants in California and
a strong showing in south central and southeastern states. More zero-emission HDV
manufacturing plants are expected to come online, including a GreenPower plant for
school buses in West Virginia.7 In Canada, production is largely concentrated in the
province of Québec.

5 “Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America Discontinues New-Truck Sales,” Truckinginfo, (May 27, 2020),
https://www.truckinginfo.com/359173/mitsubishi-fuso-truck-of-america-discontinues-new-truck-sales.
6 Information on manufacturing plants in the United States and Canada obtained from MarkLines,
www.marklines.com. Original research supplemented manufacturing plant data when available.
7 GreenPower Motor Company, “GreenPower to Manufacture All Electric School Buses in West Virginia,”
GreenPower Motor Company, January 12, 2022, https://greenpowermotor.com/greenpower-manufacture-
electric-school-buses-west-virginia/.

7 ICCT FACT SHEET | ZERO-EMISSION BUS AND TRUCK MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: A 2021 UPDATE
 Winnipeg
New Flyer

Saint-Jérôme
Crookston Lion Electric
Renton New Flyer
Kenworth Mirabel
Lion Electric
Saint Cloud Saint-Eustache Drummondville
Portland New Flyer Nova Bus Micro Bird
Ingersoll
Freightliner Plattsburgh
BrightDrop
Nova Bus
Loveland
Joliet
Lightning eMotors
Lion Electric Jamestown
New Flyer
Livermore Normal Macungie
Gillig Claycomo Rivian Mack Trucks
Ford
Hayward
Hayward
Motiv Power Dublin
Motiv Power Volvo
Tulsa Greenville
Pryor Proterra
Porterville IC Bus Canoo
GreenPower Coolidge High Point
Nikola Anniston Thomas Built Buses
Lancaster New Flyer
BYD
Vehicle group
Industry San Antonio Austin Fort Valley
Proterra Navistar Tesla Blue Bird Bus
Heavy truck
Medium truck
Medium van

© 2022 Mapbox © OpenStreetMap

Figure 10. Current manufacturing plants for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles in North America

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