ABA Foundation Motorcoach Sales Report Shows First Quarter Growth for New Vehicles in 2023

Today the American Bus Association Foundation (ABAF) released the First Quarter 2023 Motorcoach Builders Survey, which is based on surveys of the major motorcoach manufacturers that sell vehicles in the United States and Canada. According to data, motorcoach manufacturers are beginning to see growth in sales since the COVID-19 pandemic. Q1 data for 2023 shows the strongest first quarter sales since the first quarter of 2020. Year-over-year data shows a 17 percent increase in sales over Q1 2022 (352 vs 300 vehicles).

This quarter the participating manufacturers sold 260 new and 92 pre-owned coaches, for a total of 352 motorcoaches. This compares with 300 during the first quarter 2022. The increase in sales was led by the private sector buying 130 percent more vehicles over last year as the private motorcoach industry continues to strengthen post-COVID. The public sector buying fell more than 33 percent more vehicles year over year.

Overall, the three-month moving average of total coach sales is up by 17 percent from last year.

“We are finally seeing some sectors in the private motorcoach industry start to recover from the effects of the COVID pandemic,” said Peter Pantuso, president of the ABA Foundation. “As our industry recovers, we see the positive effects on industry suppliers and manufacturers. We have a long road ahead of us until we see pre-2019 numbers again but we are heading in the right direction.”

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About the Report

Data were collected by John Dunham & Associates for the American Bus Association Foundation. John Dunham & Associates is a leading economic consulting firm specializing in the economics of fast-moving issues. Data – which reflect updated results from prior reports – were collected by John Dunham & Associates for the American Bus Association Foundation. Changes in data definitions and reporting occurred over the past quarter and are reflected in these figures.