São Paulo now has the second-largest electric bus fleet in Latin America and, together with more than 80 cities, is helping avoid an estimated 10 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year.
São Paulo, 11 August 2026 – Cities across Latin America have reached the historic milestone of 10,000 electric buses in operation, according to consolidated data from E-Bus Radar announced by C40 Cities and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) during Lat.Bus 2026, the region’s largest transport and mobility event. This represents a turning point in the decarbonisation of public transport across the continent and reinforces electric mobility as a concrete response to the climate crisis, improving air quality and the health of urban populations.
The milestone is the result of the coordinated efforts of 80 cities in 13 Latin American countries, which together have accelerated the electrification of their fleets in recent years. Santiago, São Paulo and Bogotá are today leading electric mobility in Latin America, with more than 7,000 electric buses in operation across the three cities, and São Paulo now home to the region’s second-largest fleet. The operation of these buses is estimated to avoid more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
In Brazil, this transformation has been gaining momentum through programmes such as the ZEBRA Alliance, as well as through cities supported by the Mutirão Brazil Program, a joint initiative of C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), where Brazilian mayors are choosing zero-emission technologies to modernise public transport, improve air quality and accelerate the decarbonisation of cities.
Since 2019, C40 Cities and the ICCT, through the ZEBRA Partnership and alongside other partners, have supported São Paulo and other cities, such as Bogotá, Mexico City, Salvador and Curitiba, throughout the development and structuring of this financing model, helping to connect municipal stakeholders, financing institutions and suppliers. This long-term collaboration contributed to reducing the cost of capital and unlocked large-scale procurement of zero-emission vehicles.
Ilan Cuperstein, C40 Cities Regional Director for Latin America, said:
“Reaching 10,000 electric buses in operation shows that the transition to zero-emission transport is no longer a promise but a reality in Latin American cities. What was once the exception is now an expanding public policy, delivering direct benefits for the climate, health, public transport quality and local economies. The message to other cities is clear: financing does not have to be a barrier. Tested pathways exist, and the network is ready to support those willing to take them.”
São Paulo: a financing model to be replicated
No city better demonstrates the potential of this transition than São Paulo. In June 2026, the Brazilian capital added 500 new electric buses at once, bringing its fleet to 1,759 electric buses – the largest electric bus fleet in Brazil – including 1,570 battery-electric vehicles and 189 trolleybuses. In operation, this fleet avoids approximately 130,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and saves around 57 million litres of diesel annually, equivalent, in environmental terms, to planting approximately 11 million trees.
Beyond the scale of its fleet, São Paulo also stands out for the financing structure that has enabled this transition. The municipality structured an investment programme worth approximately R$6.5 billion, combining national and international resources, with the participation of institutions such as the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The city has also anchored the transition in a permanent public policy: under municipal regulations, operators can no longer replace vehicles reaching the end of their useful life with new diesel buses, ensuring a progressive shift towards low- and zero-emission technologies. Today, the electric fleet serves part of the more than 7 million passengers transported every day by the municipal system.
Ricardo Nunes, Mayor of São Paulo, highlighted: ”We are accelerating the energy transition of the country’s largest city and consolidating a public policy that is already a national and international benchmark. Through a single delivery of 500 new electric buses in June, the city achieved the environmental equivalent of planting 3.2 million trees per year. This avoids the emission of 45,000 metric tons of CO₂ while cutting annual diesel consumption by approximately 20 million litres.”
A viable pathway for other cities and regions
The São Paulo case offers a replicable roadmap for other cities: combining regulatory requirements for fleet renewal with clean vehicles and a financing package that shields municipalities from the initial burden of investment. This combination of stronger regulation and strategic technical assistance from city networks is what C40 and GCoM are seeking to scale through programmes such as Brazil Mutirão, supporting local governments in financial modelling, resource mobilisation and the integration of monitoring tools.
Beyond São Paulo, cities such as Salvador, Recife, Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro are already advancing electrification projects with support from C40 and other members of the ZEBRA Alliance. Through Brazil Mutirão, the focus is on supporting other cities that are accelerating this transformation. In Rio de Janeiro, the programme is supporting the city government in preparing the terminals of the Rio System to receive future electric buses, including charging infrastructure studies, economic and financial modelling, and project structuring support. In Salvador, Mutirão Brasil is supporting the city in electrifying at least half of its BRT fleet.
In Recife, a concrete example of the impact of collaboration across different levels of government was the formalisation of a R$319 million investment by the Federal Government to purchase 100 electric buses and charging infrastructure for the Metropolitan Region. As part of this process, Brazil Mutirão, in partnership with the Ministry of Cities, supported the review of procurement terms, economic modelling and the validation of the routes that will receive the vehicles. The case shows how coordination between federal, state and municipal governments can turn planning into investment and deliver concrete benefits for the population through cleaner, more modern and more efficient public transport.
In Belo Horizonte, meanwhile, support is focused on deploying the infrastructure required for electric mobility, including the commissioning of 27 chargers at the city’s bus depots, which will enable the operation of the capital’s first approximately 100 electric buses. The project is funded through the New PAC programme and includes technical support for monitoring, validation and commissioning of the charging infrastructure.
Together, these initiatives show that the milestone of 10,000 vehicles is only one stage in a growth curve that is expected to accelerate as new financing models and cooperation between different levels of government gain traction across the region.
About Brazil Mutirão:
The Mutirão Brasil Programme is a strategic initiative of C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), seeking to accelerate climate action in Brazilian cities through cooperation between local governments, the national government and international partners.
Launched in the context of Brazil’s climate leadership and its presidency of COP30, the programme turns climate ambition into concrete results by strengthening the conditions cities need to develop and advance high-impact projects. The initiative supports more than 50 Brazilian municipalities and states in developing 20 investment-ready projects in the areas of sustainable urban mobility and waste management, as well as climate planning in the Amazon, while mobilising cross-cutting support on climate finance, data access, climate diplomacy, climate budgeting and inclusive climate action.
The Brazil Mutirão Programme demonstrates how multilevel partnerships between national and local governments can accelerate climate action where it matters most: in cities, positioning Brazil as a global reference for multilevel climate governance and implementation at scale by 2027.
The National Front of Mayors (FNP) acts as a facilitating partner of the programme, strengthening engagement with municipal leaders across the country. Brazil Mutirão is implemented in collaboration with a broad coalition of technical partners, including WRI Brasil, ICCT, Instituto 17 + Instituto Pólis (i17), Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance / Climate Policy Initiative (CCFLA / CPI), Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN), ICLEI South America, Brazilian Council for Sustainable Construction (CBC) and the Brazilian Association of Municipalities (ABM).
The programme also has strategic coordination with the Ministry of Cities (MCID), the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA), the COP30 Presidency, the Federation Council, the Chief of Staff’s Office and other ministries of the Federal Government, strengthening cooperation across different levels of government to accelerate climate action on the ground.