New Flyer Congratulates CUTRIC on Launch of World’s First Multi-Manufacturer Interoperability Demonstration for Fast-Charge Electric Buses

The project involves on-route high-powered charging stations integrating with local utility systems. This makes Canada the world’s first country to demonstrate an interoperable electric bus trial, involving multiple bus and charging station manufacturers. The project spans three communities across Canada (Vancouver, Brampton and York Region) and will test interoperability of electric transit vehicles using a new standardized high-powered overhead charging system. Vancouver is the first to launch, with CUTRIC’s next events occurring simultaneously in Brampton and York Regions (Ontario) on April 16, 2018.

“As a long-time innovator in public transportation and North America’s only manufacturer of all four electric bus propulsions, it was important that New Flyer become an active contributor and supporter of CUTRIC’s demonstration project,” said Jennifer McNeill, Vice President, Sales and Business Development with New Flyer and a current Board member for CUTRIC. “We are proud to participate in this project, not only to highlight Canadian intellectual property in motion but to also realize collaborative creation of industry standards, as well as measurable emission reduction in communities across Canada.”

The project is expected to reduce direct CO2 emissions by up to 101,867 TCO2E over the lifecycle of the vehicles deployed across the country. In Vancouver, TransLink will own and operate its own charging systems, while sharing data with BC Hydro.

With a vision to make Canada a global leader in zero- and low-emissions transportation technologies, including advanced and integrated mobility technologies, CUTRIC works to support research and development through industry-academic collaborations that bring innovation, design, and manufacturing to Canada’s transportation supply chain. Through this work, CUTRIC will help decrease fuel consumption, avoid wasted infrastructure assets, and reduce redundancies in operations. New Flyer has been a member of CUTRIC since inception.

As cities adopt battery-electric, zero-emission vehicles at increasing rates, standards in charging and connectivity will be essential for city operation. CUTRIC helps to achieve that and builds a platform for Smart Mobility development. In February 2018, New Flyer committed to leading collaboration, cooperation, and the technological advancement of Smart Mobility in North America; supporting development of Smart Cities through advanced transit solutions. It followed in April 2018 with becoming the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities.

CUTRIC is a nonprofit consortium founded in 2014 with nearly 100 members representing public and private stakeholders across Canada. For details, visit http://cutric-crituc.org/.

The NFI Group has over 85 years of experience manufacturing buses in Canada, and is focused on advancing vehicle innovation through development of Canadian-based intellectual property and removal of barriers to adopting zero-emission vehicles and autonomous driving technologies.

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