Alexander Dennis Limited (“ADL”), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (“NFI”), one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, today welcomed the Scottish Government’s announcement of the first £50 million phase of a new Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB).
The fund replaces previous funding streams and is designed to encourage the market to implement new and innovative ways to finance and deploy zero emission buses.
ScotZEB builds on the success of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme (SULEBS), which has enabled bus operators to order a total of 207 electric buses from the BYD ADL partnership over two funding rounds awarded in September 2020 and March 2021. Deliveries of these locally built zero emission vehicles will commence this autumn, ahead of the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow between 31st October and 12th November 2021.
ScotZEB was unveiled by Transport Minister Graeme Dey at the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, which brings together senior leaders from the energy, bus and finance sectors to co-design a pathway to a fully decarbonised bus fleet.
Mr Dey said: “The Scottish Government has come to the table with an evolved offer for zero emission bus funding – building on the experience of previous schemes and designed in a way that maximises opportunities to attract sustainable financing and encourage innovative ways of doing so. £50 million is available in 2021 to help drive a green recovery, responding to the global climate emergency and to helping to improve air quality. I’m excited to see results from the ScotZEB Challenge Fund and expect to offer a larger pot of funding in 2022 once it demonstrates its success.”
ADL President & Managing Director, Paul Davies, welcomed the announcement: “The Scottish Government continues to lead the way in funding cleaner, greener buses. We look forward to working with bus operators and the energy and finance sectors to ensure the benefits of this funding are felt across communities in Scotland. Its investment in local supply chains such as our production of electric and hydrogen buses in Falkirk will underpin Scottish skilled jobs and apprenticeships that are vital for the transition to Net Zero.”
ADL’s zero emission bus offering for Scotland includes the battery-electric BYD ADL Enviro200EV single deck and BYD ADL Enviro400EV double deck buses built in partnership with battery technology experts BYD, as well as the hydrogen fuel cell-electric Enviro400FCEV that is part of H2.0, ADL’s second-generation hydrogen bus platform which will offer a range of up to 300 miles.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management regarding NFI’s and ADL’s future growth, business prospects and sales opportunities. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current expectations regarding future events and opportunities and speak only as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future events, performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not or the times at or by which such events, performance or results will be achieved. 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 transit operators to purchase buses; the COVID-19 pandemic will likely adversely affect operations of transit operators and may adversely impact or delay decisions to purchase buses and services; there is no guarantee that transit operators awarded funding under the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund will draw upon all or any of the funding awarded to purchase buses from ADL or from any other original equipment manufacturer; transit operators are not obligated to purchase transit buses exclusively from ADL; the transit operator desiring to utilize the government funding and ADL may be unable to agree on contractual terms for the purchase of buses; and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed by NFI with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these factors, NFI and ADL disclaim 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.