New Flyer Closes 2008 with Record US $4.1 Billion

New Flyer Industries Inc. (TSX:NFI.UN) (“New Flyer” or the “Company”), the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit vehicles in Canada and the United States, announced today that total new orders reported during fiscal 2008 totaled 4,815 buses (6,690 equivalent production units or “EUs”) for a total of US $2.78 billion in orders.  This reflects a win rate of 64% of tenders in which New Flyer participated.  These orders are for a variety of vehicle configurations, including 35-, 40- and 60-foot buses with clean diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, gasoline-electric hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) propulsion systems. In addition, these orders are from both current and new customers.

New Flyer’s order backlog as of December 28, 2008 was 9,531 EUs, which represents an increase of 38% in comparison to the 6,916 EUs in backlog at January 1, 2008. The value of the order backlog as of December 28, 2008 of US $4.1 billion has increased by 44% compared to the US $2.8 billion backlog at the start of 2008. Given current market conditions, management does not expect cancellations in orders.

A breakdown of the percentage of the total backlog of 9,531 EUs available for conversion to firm orders is shown in the table below.

Firm orders included in the order backlog as of December 28, 2008 totaled US $ 1.2 billion or 2,498 equivalent units which is consistent with the January 1, 2008 firm orders of US $1.2 billion or 2,844 equivalent units.

As of December 28, 2008, options included in the order backlog totaled US $2.9 billion or 7,033 equivalent units. In comparison options included in the January 1, 2008 order backlog totaled US $1.6 billion or 4,072 equivalent units. The Company is pleased to report that 99.5% of available options at the beginning of Fiscal 2008 were either exercised or remain available for future conversion to firm orders.   Options included in the December 28, 2008 order backlog available for exercise by year are shown below.

Currently, there are a total of 9,852 EUs in the order pipeline for heavy-duty transit buses for 2009; these include bids that have been submitted, bids currently in process, and anticipated bid activity to the end of the year based on transit customers’ fleet procurement plans.

NOTE: All dollar amounts are stated in US currency based on an exchange rate of US $1.00 = Cdn $1.21 to calculate the value of the Canadian contracts in this release.

About New Flyer

New Flyer is the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in the United States and Canada. The Company’s three facilities — in Winnipeg, MB, St. Cloud, MN and Crookston, MN – are all ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified. With a skilled workforce of approximately 2,400 employees, New Flyer is a technology leader, offering the broadest product line in the industry, including drive systems powered by clean diesel, LNG, CNG and electric trolley as well as energy-efficient gasoline-electric and diesel-electric hybrid vehicles. All products are supported with an industry-leading, comprehensive parts and service network. New Flyer’s Income Deposit Securities are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI.UN. Further information is available on Company’s web site at www.www.newflyer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of New Flyer and New Flyer Industries Canada ULC (“NFI ULC”) that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. Actual results may differ materially from management expectations as projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including market and general economic conditions and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these factors, New Flyer and NFI ULC disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable law.

For further information, please contact:
New Flyer Industries Inc.
Glenn Asham
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 204-224-1251