MCI brings its Reliability-Driven coach, parts and service to the ABA Marketplace and Busworld North America

Des Plaines, Illinois, USA – February 4, 2023: (TSX: NFI, OTC: NFYEF, TSX: NFI.DB) Motor Coach Industries (“MCI”), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), and North America’s motor coach leader backed by reliable in-field technical expertise, 24/7 roadside assistance, and parts support, today presents its leading J4500 coach. The MCI team—trusted experts in coach manufacturing—are at the American Bus Association (“ABA”) Marketplace, which is co-locating in Detroit, MI, with Busworld, a leading global bus equipment exhibition arriving in North America for the first time.

Celebrating a proud 90-year heritage of building the industry’s best-selling motor coaches, MCI will address the continuation of its legendary reputation by highlighting its coach innovation and service center network expansion, designed to deliver an unsurpassed service experience, during the ABA Marketplace and Busworld North America events.

From February 4-7, MCI displays its luxurious and amenity-rich MCI J4500 clean-diesel coach in booth 2627 at Busworld North America, side by side with NFI Parts^™, North America’s most comprehensive organization providing parts, technical publications, training, and support for buses and motor coaches.

After delivering its 10,000^th J4500 coach powered by clean-diesel technology and its first battery electric J4500 CHARGE™ in 2022, MCI now presents its newest clean-diesel J4500, the industry’s best-selling motor coach. Equipped with top-tier amenities for passengers and the latest safeguards for coach operators and the environment, the J4500 coach features:

“A 90-year legacy of delivering innovations and building workhorse coaches backed up with reliable parts and extensive service support, together make MCI a leading motor coach manufacturer in North America,” said Paul Soubry, President and Chief Executive Officer, NFI. “MCI is a proud member of NFI’s global brand family, and we are delighted to display MCI’s industry-leading vehicle at Busworld North America.”

“We are excited to start MCI’s next decade of service to the motor coach industry,” said Brent Maitland, Vice President, Private Sector Sales and Marketing, MCI. “Our future continues to include the J4500 coach as the pinnacle of what operators value in a motor coach designed for North American roads: along with high-quality manufacturing and the best support team in the business. These attributes, developed over the past 90 years, are leading us forward. Thank you to all ABA members, whose loyalty and trust allowed MCI to reach its anniversary milestone and many landmark achievements throughout the MCI history.”

At the 2023 Busworld debut in North America, MCI’s Brent Maitland will be featured as a panelist in the “Overview of the North American Bus and Motorcoach Market” and the “Zero-Emission Options for Long-Range Applications” educational sessions. Brent will also speak at ABA’s sessions of Driving Force, a program designed to provide industry operators with tools and tips to recruit and retain their drivers. 

As a proud sponsor, MCI will present several industry awards at ABA Marketplace, including the Motorcoach Driver of the Year Award at the BISC’s (“Bus Industry Safety Council”) session, the Leadership & Environmental Sustainability award, which recognizes an operator for its outstanding green stewardship, and two Women in Buses awards. MCI is a founding member and long-time sponsor of ABA’s Women in Buses program, which recognizes and advances the role of women in the motorcoach industry through networking, education and mentoring. 

MCI to expand its service and parts network in 2023

Most recently, MCI announced that its Southern California service center location is moving into a  new, more convenient location in Los Angeles, which will open in March. In addition, a service center facility in Seattle, Washington, is expected to open later in 2023.

In addition, NFI Parts has recently announced the expansion of its parts warehouse space in Fresno, CA, doubling the square footage to provide better availability and reduce delivery lead time for West Coast customers. The NFI Parts Fresno warehouse is now stocked with a majority of high-demand MCI coach maintenance parts and will continue adding inventory over time to meet customer demand. Furthermore, NFI Parts’ now offers a Critical Parts List identifying key parts deemed essential to coach uptime and for customers to consider stocking in their own shop.

Relationship-driven support functions, including MCI’s in-field Technical Solutions Managers, technical call center, 24/7 roadside assistance, and award-winning technician training through MCI Academy, also help keep the more than 20,000 MCI coaches currently in service and running every day.

MCI Academy, the only motor coach industry training institution to earn the Automotive Service Excellence (“ASE”) accreditation, provides no-cost training programs for all levels of technicians through hundreds of online courses. In 2022, MCI Academy re-opened in-person classes at its National Training Center in Louisville, KY, and announced its ASE 5-year recertification. The 2023 class schedule is available online. To learn more, visit mciacademy.com.

MCI’s parent company, NFI, is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 120 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell-electric buses and coaches, and its vehicles have completed over 85 million EV service miles.

Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean, and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, technology, infrastructure, and workforce development. NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (“VIC”), the first and only innovation lab of its kind dedicated to advancing bus and coach technology and providing workforce development. Since opening in late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.

About MCI

MCI is North America’s public and private market motor coach leader. Products include the luxury J Series (an industry best-seller for over a decade), the workhorse D Series, and the brand new zero-emission luxury and commuter coaches: the battery-electric J4500 CHARGE™, D45 CRT CHARGE™ and D45 CRT LE CHARGE™.

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 7,500 team members in nine 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. The Shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI and NFI’s convertible unsecured debentures trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NFI.DB. News and information is available at www.nfigroup.com, www.newflyer.com, www.mcicoach.com, www.nfi.parts, www.alexander-dennis.com, www.arbocsv.com, and www.carfaircomposites.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

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.

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