New Flyer awarded contract from NJ TRANSIT for up to 170 sixty-foot heavy-duty articulated transit buses

ST. CLOUD, MN, Feb. 26, 2019 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI) New Flyer of America Inc. ("New Flyer"), a U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. ("NFI"), the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer in North America, today announced that the New Jersey Transit Corporation ("NJ TRANSIT") has awarded New Flyer a contract for up to 170, sixty-foot, clean diesel Xcelsior^® heavy-duty transit buses, with firm orders of 85 buses to be delivered in 2019 and 2020, and options to purchase up to an additional 85 buses (for a total of up to 340 equivalent units or "EUs"). 

NJ TRANSIT is America's third largest provider of bus, rail, and light rail transit, operating and contracting bus services in the New Jersey, New York City, and Philadelphia regions delivering over 270 million passenger trips per year. The award to New Flyer will allow NJ TRANSIT to retire its existing fleet of articulated transit buses that have been in revenue service for more than 15 years. 

NJ TRANSIT currently operates over 1,000 transit buses manufactured by North American Bus Industries ("NABI") in Anniston, AL which was acquired by New Flyer in 2013. In addition, NFI subsidiary Motor Coach Industries ("MCI") has proudly served NJ TRANSIT since 1983, having delivered 2,909 high floor commuter coaches by 2015. In that same year, MCI was awarded a new six-year contract for a total potential quantity of 1,222 fully-accessible, ADA compliant commuter coaches of which 473 have been delivered to date.

MCI provides field service for the coaches from its service center located in Blackwood, New Jersey and spare parts support from the NFI Parts distribution center in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

"Our goal is to provide reliable high-capacity vehicles that NJ Transit can rely on for safe, on-time service," said Chris Stoddart, President, New Flyer. "We are honored to have been selected by NJ TRANSIT to provide service alongside other buses from the NFI portfolio."

New Flyer has been leading innovation in public transit buses for over 85 years. In 2017, it opened the Vehicle Innovation Center, the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology, and in 2018 became the first bus manufacturer in the world to sign on to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities. It is the only provider of full suite bus solutions in North America, offering transit buses, motor coaches, and low-floor cutaway buses.

About NFI

With over 6,100 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 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) on proven bus platforms. It also supports infrastructure development through New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe and reliable charging and mobility solutions. In total, NFI supports over 74,000 buses and coaches currently in service across North America. 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. 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 41,000 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.newflyer.com.

About MCI

Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is North America's public and private market motor coach leader, building the J4500 (the industry best-seller for 13 consecutive years), the all-new 35-foot J3500 model, and the workhorse D-Series including the breakthrough ADA-accessible MCI D45 CRT LE Commuter Coach offering lower dwell times. MCI will add battery-electric propulsion in 2020. With nearly 30,000 MCI coaches on the road, MCI also provides maintenance, repair, 24-hour roadside assistance, parts supply through NFI Parts, and technician training through the industry's only Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) accredited MCI Academy. Further information is available at www.mcicoach.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.