The advantages of using aluminium in the bus industry are manifold. Aluminium can be extruded into complex shapes, allowing for intricate design and integrally strong structures. Modern buses with aluminium bodies are several hundred kilograms lighter than those built using conventional methods of construction. This increases the number of people that can be transported for a given maximum permitted weight and reduces running costs, the benefits of which are reaped to the full given the large distances buses travel and the frequent stops and starts they make at bus stops; in view of the chronic financial shortages faced by local authorities, this is an important aspect when acquiring new vehicles.

In 2008, Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Company, China’s largest bus manufacturer and the number two producer in the world, introduced two new environmentally-friendly bus prototypes. The new aluminium-intensive bus body is approximately 46% lighter than a traditional bus; consequently, it requires less fuel and emits fewer greenhouse gases.