UK bus manufacturing

Michael Benson; Saywah Mahmood

Data on licensed buses by manufacturer

The Department for Transport and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency publish vehicle licensing statistics for Great Britain and for the UK.

There are three major bus manufacturers in the UK: Alexander Dennis, Switch (previously known as Optare) and Wrightbus.

As of quarter 3 2025, there were 144,429 licensed buses in the UK. Of these, 24,486 (17%) were built by a UK manufacturer.

Source: Department for Transport and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Vehicle licensing statistics data files, df_VEH0120_UK

The table below shows figures for Alexander Dennis, Switch and Wrightbus.

Table titled ‘Licensed buses and coaches in the UK, Q3 2025’. It shows the number and share of licensed buses by manufacturer. Alexander Dennis has 16,114 buses, accounting for 11.2% of all licensed buses in the UK. Wrightbus has 6,258 buses, or 4.3%. Switch has 196 buses, or 0.1%. Source: Department for Transport and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Vehicle licensing statistics data files, df_VEH0120_UK

The bus industry relies on a wide supply chain. As a result, even where buses are manufactured in the UK, some components and suppliers may be based outside the UK.

The data covers all licensed buses and coaches that are not registered as off road. It does not necessarily reflect the number of vehicles used in regular scheduled services.

Economic impact of bus manufacturing

The bus industry is complex and difficult to define in economic statistics. There is no single Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code that captures bus manufacturing accurately and the industry draws on a broad supply chain across many sectors. As a result, there are no comprehensive official estimates of the size of the bus manufacturing industry or its total economic impact.

However, there are reports and research that provide a rough idea of the industry’s scale.

Research published in 2024 by the professional services firm KPMG on the economic impact of local bus services found that the bus sector invests over £180 million each year in UK-manufactured buses.

The report also estimated that around 53,000 people are indirectly employed through the industry’s supply chain, including those working for vehicle manufacturers, fuel suppliers, maintenance and parts companies, and technology providers.

Company-level information

Company-level information provides additional context on employment in the UK bus manufacturing sector. Recent media reporting suggests that the three largest UK manufacturers employ around 2,300 people at Wrightbus, 1,850 at Alexander Dennis and around 240 at Switch Mobility. In total, this is just under 4,400 employees.

However, concerns have been raised about job security at some manufacturers.

In March 2025, Switch Mobility announced that its Sherborne plant may close, potentially placing around 200 jobs at risk.

Alexander Dennis, which has factories in Falkirk and Larbert in Scotland, consulted on proposals to move all manufacturing to Scarborough. This consultation put up to 400 jobs at risk, equivalent to around 22% of its workforce.

In September 2025, the Scottish Government pledged £4 million to support a 26-week furlough scheme. Following this, the company confirmed it would keep its Scottish sites open and restart manufacturing. In June, Alexander Dennis said that longer-term production in Falkirk would depend on securing orders for at least 300 buses per year.

UK bus manufacturing

Data on licensed buses by manufacturer

Economic impact of bus manufacturing

Company-level information

Further reading

Reports and press releases

Parliamentary material

Parliamentary questions

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