School bus sales could grow by quarter to 900 units in 2026 – forecast

Sales of new school buses next year could increase to approximately 900 units, or 25% compared to 2025, given the state budget subsidy for the School Bus program and 30% co-financing from local communities, according to Vadym Shkarupin, director of Etalon Auto Trading House, a subsidiary of Etalon Corporation.

"The 2026 state budget includes a subsidy of UAH 2 billion. This is the first part of the funding. The second part (although the subsidy has not yet been distributed) is for regional state administrations to provide 30% co-financing. And there's also an unused additional subsidy of UAH 737 million allocated by the government, which must be carried over to next year. All of this, according to preliminary estimates, will allow for the purchase of approximately 900 buses," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

He recalled that 720 school buses were purchased this year.

"That is, if 720 buses were sold this year, and there was enough work for everyone, and even a certain shortage of buses arose, then 900 buses next year will definitely provide enough work for all Ukrainian manufacturers," Shkarupin concluded.

As reported, the 2025 state budget subsidy for the purchase of school buses amounted to UAH 1.6 billion.

Since 2024, the School Bus program has been implemented thanks to financial cooperation between the EU and Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility instrument. Specifically, school buses must have seats for students with disabilities.

In Ukraine, buses in the "school" configuration are produced by JSC Cherkasy Bus, Chernihiv Automobile Plant of the Etalon Corporation, Zaporizhia Automobile Plant UkrAvto Group, and Bus Motor LLC (Bohdan buses).