One Year to Go Until Busworld Europe Returns to Brussels

Busworld Europe returns to Brussels a year from today, and the first names on the 2027 exhibitor list have already been published.

Tom Harrison (Bus Ambassador)

The show, which organisers describe as the world's largest dedicated to buses and coaches, runs from 16th to 21st October 2027 at Brussels Expo. It follows a record-breaking edition in 2025, which welcomed 45,427 visitors from 116 countries, 559 exhibitors and 238 buses and coaches over six days.

What Is Busworld?

For readers who have not been, Busworld Europe is a trade show for the whole bus and coach industry. Manufacturers, component suppliers, operators, transport authorities and policymakers all meet under one roof, and it is where many of the biggest European vehicle launches take place.

It is held every two years. The first show took place in Kortrijk, Belgium, in 1971 and stayed there until 2017. By then it had outgrown Kortrijk Xpo, and it moved to the much larger Brussels Expo in 2019.

Looking Back at 2025

The 2025 show ran from 4 to 9 October. There were 81 bus manufacturers exhibiting, up from 66 in 2023, and 23 vehicle unveilings and innovation premieres during the week.

Electric vehicles were the dominant theme, and Bus Ambassador reported on several of the main launches.

VDL used the show to launch VDL Bus Group, which brings VDL Bus & Coach and VDL Van Hool together under one structure. It also unveiled the third-generation Futura 3 coach, which it says can cut fuel use by up to 15% thanks to improved aerodynamics and a lighter build.

Daimler Buses gave the Mercedes-Benz eIntouro its world premiere. It is the company's first fully electric intercity coach, with a claimed range of up to 500 km. Alongside it were the eCitaro with the new NMC4 battery generation and the hydrogen fuel-cell version of the eCitaro.

Vietnamese manufacturer VinFast made its European debut with two electric city buses, the EB 8 and EB 12. The 12-metre EB 12 has European type approval and runs on batteries supplied by CATL – a name that will appear again in Brussels next year.

Turkish manufacturer BMC showed its PROCITY+ and NEOCITY electric buses, developed in partnership with KIEPE. The range runs from the compact 8.5-metre NEOCITY to the 18-metre articulated PROCITY+.

Yutong brought four battery-electric models, including the T14E touring coach and the U15 city bus. It also launched its EV Long-life Tech package, which aims to keep both vehicle and battery in service for up to 1.5 million km or 15 years.

The Award Winners

Yutong took both top prizes at the 2025 Busworld Vehicle Awards, which were judged by a jury of around 30 international experts. The U15 won the Grand Award Bus and the T14E the Grand Award Coach.

The U15 also received Labels of Excellence for safety and ecology, while the Mercedes-Benz eCitaro was recognised for comfort. In the coach category, the Setra S 515 HD was recognised for safety and comfort, and the Otokar e-Territo 13 and Yutong IC12E for ecology.

In the first Busworld Vehicle Design Awards, the VDL Futura 3 was named the best-designed coach and the Yutong U15 the best-designed bus.

Who Is Coming in 2027

The 2027 exhibitor list already runs to several hundred companies. All five of the manufacturers above have booked stands, along with familiar names such as Volvo Buses, MAN, Scania, Iveco Bus, Solaris, Irizar and BYD.

Organisers have singled out three newcomers. CATL, one of the world's largest makers of electric vehicle batteries, will exhibit for the first time. So will Chinese bus manufacturer Asiastar and French software company Pysae, whose platform lets operators track their fleets live and gives passengers real-time journey information.

There is a UK presence too. Companies listed from the UK so far include Hanover Displays, Grayson Thermal Systems, Pailton Engineering, Altro, Camira and Zenobē.

Organisers say more details about exhibitors, new products and innovations will be announced over the coming months. Autonomous vehicles could also get their own category in the Vehicle Design Awards.

The Congress

Alongside the exhibition, Busworld runs a congress where operators, manufacturers and policymakers discuss the issues facing the industry. In 2025 it brought together 1,242 participants, including 22 representatives of the European Commission, across 39 sessions.

Topics ranged from zero-emission vehicles and digitalisation to safety and the future of long-distance coach travel. One of the key takeaways was a forecast that more than 60% of Europe's urban buses will be battery electric by 2030.

For 2027, Busworld has worked with consultancy Arthur D. Little and research company Ipsos to survey operators, industry representatives and policymakers about their most pressing challenges. The results will shape the next congress programme, with details due to be announced soon.

Recordings and key insights from the 2025 sessions remain available on the Busworld Europe congress page.

Planning a Visit

Visitor registration has not opened yet, but visitors can pre-register to be told when it does. The floor plans are already online.

Closer to Home

Before then, the UK's biggest coach and bus show, Euro Bus Expo, returns to the NEC Birmingham from 3 to 5 November, and Bus Ambassador will be there to report on the highlights.

All 44 of Bus Ambassador's videos from Busworld Europe 2025 are available on YouTube.

Further details on Busworld Europe 2027 are available on the Busworld Europe website.