New Flyer Bus Incident on April 3rd in Anniston, Alabama

Wayne Joseph, President of New Flyer stated that, “Investigative findings, including on-board telematics, clearly point to the operator being the cause while negotiating an S-turn at a speed significantly over the posted speed limit”. Joseph further explained that, “Following a complete technical and situational investigation, the cause of incident was determined to be driver error and not a result of any design issue, nor component failure. We are relieved that no one was seriously injured, and we will review our test protocols to ensure safety, while continuing to stress our buses to their limits so that when production buses are delivered to customers, they are safe and efficient.” New Flyer has taken appropriate disciplinary action with the driver.

Founded in 1930, New Flyer has a 50-year track record of effectively designing, validating, and manufacturing electric heavy-duty transit buses. The Company has successfully delivered over 7,300 buses powered by electric motors and batteries. The Xcelsior® battery-electric bus has thoroughly and successfully completed the U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Bus Test Program at Altoona which includes double-lane change obstacle avoidance, structural integrity and durability, reliability and performance, and maintainability. New Flyer electric buses currently operate safely and reliably in some of North America’s largest cities, including: Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

“Contrary to information on various blogs and postings over the past week regarding this incident, the location of the battery packs was not the cause of the incident,” explained Chris Stoddart, New Flyer Senior Vice President of Engineering and Customer Service. New Flyer places batteries in both the engine compartment and on the roof to distribute loads similar to that of its diesel-hybrid or compressed natural gas powered buses (of which there are well over 10,000 safely in service across Canada and the United States).

Stoddart continued, “Provisions for rooftop battery packs are common across all North American and international bus manufacturers. In fact, heavy-duty transit buses built by other manufacturers with batteries located only under the floor (between the axles) have recently been tested at the FTA Altoona track and have exceeded front axle weight ratings, resulting in a significant limitation to the number of passengers that can be carried on board.”

About NFI Group

NFI Group and its subsidiaries comprise the largest bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, with 32 fabrication, manufacturing, distribution, and service centers located across Canada and the United States and employing nearly 6,000 team members.

NFI Group provides a comprehensive suite of mass transportation solutions under several brands: New Flyer® (heavy-duty transit buses), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), MCI® (motor coaches), and NFI Parts™ (bus and coach parts, support, and service). NFI Group’s vehicles incorporate the widest range of drive systems available ranging from clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, trolley-electric, battery-electric, and fuel cell-electric.

• New Flyer is North America’s heavy-duty transit bus leader and offers the most advanced product line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE™ brands. New Flyer actively supports over 44,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 7,300 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,600 are zero-emission.
• ARBOC is North America’s low-floor, body-on-chassis (“cutaway”) bus leader serving transit, paratransit, and shuttle applications. With more than 2,500 buses in service, ARBOC leads the low-floor cutaway bus market providing unsurpassed passenger accessibility and comfort over traditional high-floor cutaway vehicles. ARBOC also offers a medium-duty bus for transit and shuttle applications.
• Motor Coach Industries is North America’s motor coach leader offering the J-Series, the industry’s best-selling intercity coach for 11 consecutive years, and the D-Series, the industry’s best-selling motor coach line in North American history. MCI actively supports over 28,000 coaches currently in service.
• NFI Parts is North America’s most comprehensive parts organization, providing replacement parts, technical publications, training, service, and support for NFI Group’s bus and motor coach product lines.

Further information is available at www.www.newflyer.com, www.arbocsv.com, and www.mcicoach.com. The common shares of NFI Group are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of the NFI Group 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 those 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, NFI Group disclaims 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:
Lindy Norris
Ph: 204-792-8424