Knoxville selects New Flyer with award for up to 25 battery-electric Xcelsior buses and the associated charging infrastructure from New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™

ST. CLOUD, Minn., Oct. 13, 2020 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer of America Inc. ("New Flyer"), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"), one of the world's leading independent global bus manufacturers, today announced that Knoxville Area Transit ("KAT") has awarded New Flyer a contract for twelve zero-emission, battery-electric thirty five-foot heavy-duty transit buses, with options to purchase up to 13 additional zero-emission buses in thirty-five or forty-foot lengths throughout the remaining term of the five-year agreement.

"This contract includes charging infrastructure encompassing six depot chargers, one portable trailer-mounted charger, and design-build support from New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions, including installation services, software and software services, training, warranties, and commissioning," said Chris Stoddart, New Flyer President. "Working with KAT on a comprehensive mobility solution including both buses and infrastructure will ensure an optimized approach to the design and deployment of zero-emission mobility."

KAT provides public transportation in Knoxville, Tennessee, delivering around 3 million passenger trips per year. Knoxville is the third largest city in Tennessee and is among the ten fastest growing cities in America. "KAT has been actively pursuing the transition to low and no-emissions in the KAT fleet over recent years," said Isaac Thorne, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville. "Together with New Flyer, we are making zero-emission mobility a reality for the City of Knoxville. KAT and the City of Knoxville aim to lead sustainability in Tennessee, and together with New Flyer, we are building a more sustainable, livable, and connected community."

KAT celebrated the purchase of its first New Flyer battery-electric transit bus in December 2019 in a ribbon cutting ceremony featuring the Mayor and councilmembers. With over 44% of the community's emissions coming from transportation, KAT and the City of Knoxville have been transitioning to sustainable mobility over recent years, with over 30% of its current fleet as hybrid electric vehicles.  The new zero-emission buses will support existing KAT service and operate along Knoxville's most diverse routes, serving students, seniors, and the wider community and providing fully-accessible transit to essential stops and services in the city.  

New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™ is dedicated to providing safe, reliable services for smart, sustainable mobility projects. Its full-suite services include support, planning, optimization, and transition to help ensure successful transition to battery-electric mobility, while working closely with leading firms including Siemens, ABB, ChargePoint, Burns & McDonnell and Black & Veatch. For more information, visit newflyer.com/infrastructuresolutions.

New Flyer has been manufacturing zero-emission buses for more than 50 years, with more electric buses on the road in America than any other bus manufacturer. With nearly 90 years of experience in manufacturing, New Flyer today supports growing North American cities with sustainable buses, technology, and infrastructure. It also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus technology and providing essential workforce development through electric bus training. New Flyer was the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, and is currently developing automated bus technology to improve safety in public transit.

About NFI

With 9,000 team members in ten countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the brands New Flyer^® (heavy-duty transit buses), MCI^® (motor coaches), Alexander Dennis Limited (single and double-deck buses), Plaxton (motor coaches), ARBOC^® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses), and NFI Parts™. NFI currently offers the widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, battery, and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid, and clean diesel. In total, NFI supports its installed base of over 105,000 buses and coaches around the world. NFI common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI. News and information is available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.arbocsv.com, www.alexander-dennis.com, and www.nfi.parts.

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. It also offers infrastructure development through New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe, sustainable, and reliable charging and mobility solutions. New Flyer actively supports over 35,000 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI, and Orion) currently in service, of which 8,600 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are zero-emission. Further information is available at 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 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 market and general economic conditions and economic conditions of and funding availability for customers to purchase buses and to purchase parts or services, customers may not exercise options to purchase additional buses, the ability of customers to suspend or terminate contracts for convenience 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, the 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.

SOURCE New Flyer of America Inc.

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