NFI enters the Australian market through ADL electric bus body supply agreement with Nexport
NFI Group Inc., a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in mobility solutions, announced a supply agreement for NFI subsidiary Alexander Dennis Limited to provide 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 ADL Enviro family on a BYD chassis for the local Australian transit market. Nexport will also lead the customer sales and service relationship.
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 1,000 battery-electric vehicles and clocked over 30 million miles of zero-emission service.
The supply agreement will bring a range of new locally-assembled electric bus products that are currently not available to local bus operators in Australia. 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.
“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,” said Paul Soubry, President and Chief Executive Officer, NFI. “Our electric buses and coaches have seen strong growth in numerous markets, and, through this partnership, our electric vehicles will now be available insix countries, with plans for further geographic expansion in the near future through ADL.”
“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,” said Paul Davies, President and Managing Director, ADL. “This agreement 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.”
NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 80 cities in six countries. NFI offers the widest range of zero-emission battery and fuel cell electric buses and coaches, and the Company’s vehicles have completed over 40 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. It 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 late 2017, the VIC has hosted over 300 interactive events, welcoming 3,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training.
