Motorcoach sales rise 7.9% in Q1 2026 to 493 units, led by gains in public sector sales
The American Bus Association (ABA), the leading voice in North America’s charter bus, motorcoach, group travel and tourism industries, today announced the First Quarter 2026 Motorcoach Builders Survey. The survey, conducted by the ABA’s research arm, the American Bus Association Foundation, produces the report each quarter with data collected from surveys of major motorcoach manufacturers that sell vehicles in the United States and Canada.
In the first quarter of 2026, participating manufacturers sold 423 new and 70 pre-owned motorcoaches, for a total of 493 units. This compares with 457 units in the first quarter of 2025 (Figure 1), representing a 7.9% year-over-year increase.
Sales of new motorcoaches increased by 7.6% compared to the same quarter in 2025, while pre-owned motorcoach sales rose by 9.4% (Figures 2 and 3). Both segments posted moderate gains in Q1 following stronger growth in late 2025.
Sales to private entities decreased by 19.4% while sales to public entities increased by 267.6% compared to the first quarter of 2025 (Figure 4).
First-quarter 2026 results indicate a motorcoach manufacturing market continuing to normalize after several years of disruption and volatility. Demand appears to be settling into a more stable operating environment, with manufacturers and operators adjusting to current market conditions. While sales remain 22.0% below the same period in 2019 (Figure 5), comparisons to pre-pandemic levels may be becoming less indicative of current market dynamics as the industry adapts to structural changes in demand and operator composition.
“Manufacturers are facing real uncertainty tied to tariffs, supply chain costs, and broader market conditions, so it is positive to see diversified demand across both public and private sectors helping support these critical partners to America’s private motorcoach industry.”
Fred Ferguson, ABA
At the same time, the decline in private sector sales will require continued monitoring. Tariffs, new model year engine requirements, insurance costs, and broader operating pressures within the private motorcoach market remain key considerations and may be influencing purchasing behavior, though it is too early to determine their long-term impact based on Q1 data alone.
“Overall, the Q1 OEM results are encouraging for the industry and reflect a manufacturing market that is continuing to stabilize despite ongoing economic and regulatory pressures,” said Fred Ferguson, President & CEO of the American Bus Association. “Manufacturers are facing real uncertainty tied to tariffs, supply chain costs, and broader market conditions, so it is positive to see diversified demand across both public and private sectors helping support these critical partners to America’s private motorcoach industry.
“At the same time, private motorcoach operators continue to face mounting cost pressures and an increasingly difficult regulatory environment. The Q1 data may suggest that factors such as tariffs, insurance costs, fuel spikes, new engine requirements, and other operating expenses are beginning to influence purchasing behavior, though it is still early, and trends will need to be monitored closely. “These dynamics reinforce the importance of ABA’s affordability agenda and our advocacy efforts focused on challenging punitive idling enforcement policies, conducting a comprehensive review of the insurance market, protecting fuel tax fairness, addressing tolling concerns, and advancing greater regulatory and financial parity for private operators alongside public transit systems, concluded Ferguson.”
About the American Bus Association Foundation
The American Bus Association Foundation (ABAF), the philanthropic arm of the American Bus Association, is dedicated to advancing the motorcoach, travel, and tourism industry through research and education. The Foundation’s mission is to support the motorcoach travel and tour industry with research and scholarships that benefit the ABA, policymakers, and the public. The ABA Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in financial support to more than 300 scholars since the program began after the passing of then ABA President and CEO George T. Snyder Jr. in 1995. Our scholarship programs help ABA members and the public earn degrees that support the motorcoach travel and tour industry, as well as promote academic excellence and diversity.
For more information about the ABA Foundation and its scholarship program, please visit www.buses.org/aba-foundation.
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