22nd July 2021
Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, today announced a supply agreement to bring a range of zero emission buses to the Australian market.
Under the agreement, Nexport, an Australian owned supplier and producer of electric buses, will assemble bodies from the Alexander Dennis Enviro family on BYD chassis for the local Australian market. Nexport will also lead the customer sales and service relationship.
ADL is globally renowned for its pioneering lightweight buses, incorporating a range of technology solutions and available to a variety of customer specification, which form the backbone of public transport networks in the world’s busiest towns and cities.
ADL and BYD’s electric vehicle partnership has been a great success in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, where they have delivered and taken orders for more than battery-electric 1,000 vehicles and clocked up over 30 million miles of zero emission service.
The supply agreement will bring a range of new locally-assembled electric bus products, providing bus types that are currently not available to local bus operators in Australia. The first of the range released will include a 9.7-metre electric city bus as well as 11.6-metre and 12.5-metre models. The first buses are targeted to be on the road in early 2022 with volume production to be underway by the end of that year.
Paul Soubry, President and Chief Executive Officer of NFI, said: “We continue to look for innovative ways to lead the evolution to zero-emission mobility around the world and this strategic partnership between ADL and Nexport will help further support that evolution in the southern hemisphere. Our electric buses and coaches have seen strong growth in numerous markets and through this partnership, our electric vehicles will now be available in five countries, with plans for further geographic expansion in the near future through ADL.”
Paul Davies, President and Managing Director of ADL, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with Nexport in the Australian market as we believe that our globally renowned buses can help deliver the country’s decarbonisation agenda. This agreement with Nexport fits perfectly with our model of manufacturing close to our customers, supporting highly skilled local jobs and developing skills in green technology while adding value to local economies. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Nexport who share our unwavering focus of delivering best-in-class customer support and outstanding quality.”
Michel van Maanen, CEO of Nexport, stated: “This agreement will be another significant boost to the Australian manufacturing renaissance. We are delighted to partner with Alexander Dennis who have been extremely progressive in the zero-emission bus space globally. For Nexport to be able to partner with such a strong global company, further demonstrates our business objective to bring the world’s best zero-emission mobility technology to our shores and manufacturing the products locally, by Australians.”
About NFI
Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world. With zero-emission buses and coaches, infrastructure, and technology, NFI meets today’s urban demands for scalable smart mobility solutions. Together, NFI is enabling more livable cities through connected, clean, and sustainable transportation.
With 8,000 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 Alexander Dennis
Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of double deck buses and is also the UK’s largest bus and coach manufacturer. ADL offers single and double deck vehicles under the brands of Alexander Dennis and Plaxton, and has over 31,000 vehicles in service in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada and the United States. Further information is available at www.alexander-dennis.com.
About Nexport
Nexport Pty Ltd is a fully Australian owned business and the leading supplier of electric vehicles in Australia. Besides having deep local knowledge of Australian body building for electric buses in Victoria and New South Wales, they also have an exclusive distribution agreement with BYD technologies in Australia across various product categories like buses, logistic vans, and cars.
Nexport is the only bus manufacturer that is solely focussed on zero-emission technology which enables them to have laser focus on zero-emission outcomes, with no distractions or connections to legacy technology. Nexport is a fully integrated advanced technology provider in transport solutions for a cleaner and greener environment with its fleets of electric buses, trucks and taxis.
As an integrated solutions provider Nexport’s value offering is based on the value chain of Sales Engineering and Delivery, Operational Excellence, Technical Expertise, Application Capabilities and Local Professional Aftersales support. With a combination of these five pillars, we believe Nexport can deliver a true value add to our customers and partners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to expected future events and financial and operating results of NFI 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, NFI 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.