New Flyer becomes the first North American Bus Manufacturer outside the Volvo Group to join OppCharge; continues support of global charging systems for electric buses

This commitment makes New Flyer the first licensee outside the Volvo Group to join OppCharge in America. It also continues New Flyer’s active participation in and support of global charging standards for electric buses and coaches, for both enroute and depot charging options.

OppCharge interface is a solution driven by Volvo Bus Corporation and several other stakeholders, with the OppCharge Trademark owned by Volvo Bus Corporation.

In 2018, New Flyer joined CharIN to support industry charging standards for all electric vehicles, shortly after becoming the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities and also celebrating the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium’s (“CUTRIC”) launch of the Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Demonstration and Integration Trial – the world’s first multi-manufacturer interoperability demonstration for fast-charge electric buses – of which New Flyer was a contributing member.

OppCharge was established to create a common interface for direct current (DC) high-power charging for medium and heavy-duty vehicles.

David Warren, New Flyer’s Director of Sustainable Transportation, explained that joining OppCharge utilizes important global charging standards. “When bus manufacturers use a common charging interface, cities can share electric charging equipment across transit, refuse, and urban delivery vehicles. OppCharge provides interoperability that reduces capital investment in charging equipment, and allows city planners to implement cohesive infrastructure for heavy duty electric vehicles – creating a foundation for long-term, multi-modal application.”

The OppCharge system uses an overhead pantograph to transfer power to the bus, utilizing technology developed for train, light rail, and trolley-bus applications. It is available on New Flyer’s zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE™ bus in 35, 40, and 60-foot models.

“OppCharge allows a transit bus to charge quickly and reliably at routine stops: for each hour of service, a bus typically requires only six minutes of charging time, allowing continuous high transit operations,” stated Chris Stoddart, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Service. “We are proud of our OppCharge commitment as it directly supports development of connected multi-modal transportation – known as smart mobility – to propel smart city growth. We are committed to advancing smart mobility in delivering safe, clean, efficient, and connected multimodal transportation in cities across North America.”

OppCharge systems are currently operational in cities throughout Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Canada, with supporting international members including Siemens, Solaris, ABB, Nova Bus, and Volvo. New Flyer projects are underway or planned for cities in the United States including New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis. For more information, visit oppcharge.org.

The NFI Group has over 50 years of experience in manufacturing zero-emission buses (ZEBs) of which 7,300 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,600 are zero-emission.

About NFI Group

With nearly 6,000 team members, operating from 31 facilities across Canada and the United States, NFI is North America’s largest bus manufacturer providing 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™ (parts, support, and service). NFI buses incorporate the widest range of drive systems available including: clean diesel, natural gas, diesel-electric hybrid, and zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell). For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, NFI posted revenues of US $2.4 billion. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information are available at www.nfigroup.com.

About New Flyer

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. Further information is available at www.www.newflyer.com.

For further information, please contact:
Lindy Norris
P: 204.792.8424