The American Bus Association Foundation – the largest non-profit organization in the group travel industry, with an emphasis on research and scholarships – released its second quarter 2020 Motorcoach Builder Survey. Based on surveys of the major motorcoach manufacturers that sell vehicles in the United States and Canada, motorcoach sales from the participating manufacturers saw a massive decrease in sales from the second quarter in 2019: falling from 766 units in 2019 to 129 units (59 new coaches and 70 pre-owned coaches) in 2020.
There was an overall 83 percent decrease in sales year over year. However, new sales of coaches 40-<45 feet saw an increase of 75 percent over last year’s sales.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated every corner of the motorcoach industry,” said Peter Pantuso, president of the ABA Foundation. “When the industry’s 3,000 motorcoach businesses are shuttered because no one is traveling or allowed to travel, businesses can’t buy buses. The pandemic is having a ripple effect for the entire industry: if buses are sitting idle the suppliers in the industry are going to feel the brunt with companies not buying new buses which means upholstery, parts, tires, etc are all going to be hurting.”