Westport Announces Amended Cummins Westport Joint Venture Agreement::Conference Call to Follow

published: February 20, 2012

VANCOUVER, BC – Westport Innovations Inc. (TSX:WPT/NASDAQ:WPRT), the global leader in natural gas engines, today announced that it has entered into an amended and restated joint venture agreement (JVA) with Cummins Inc. for the Cummins Westport Inc. (CWI) joint venture. The JVA was amended to provide for, among other things, clarification concerning the scope of products within CWI. In addition, the parties have revised certain economic terms of the JVA.

In a separate announcement, CWI today announced the commercial launch of a new 12 litre natural gas engine based on the successful Cummins ISX12 diesel platform. The new engine incorporates the same industry leading combustion technology as CWI’s most successful engine, the 8.9 litre ISL G. The new ISX12 G is currently in field trials with production expected to commence in early 2013. CWI will market this new engine in North America, and Cummins will have the option of developing international versions of this new engine for markets outside North America. The new engine will be manufactured in Cummins’ Jamestown, New York Engine Plant.

“Over the past 10 years, CWI has emerged as the pre-eminent supplier of high performance natural gas engines for commercial vehicles” said David Demers, CEO of Westport Innovations. “With this new agreement, we have taken the necessary steps to provide CWI with a platform for continued growth and success over the next 10 years, while recognizing the dramatically increased interest in natural gas as a fuel.”

Details of Amended Joint Venture Agreement

Under the prior JVA, CWI had a global exclusive right to design, engineer, and market mid-range on-road spark-ignited natural gas engines based on Cummins diesel engines manufactured in Cummins facilities. Cummins and Westport have agreed in the amended and restated JVA to focus CWI’s future product development on North American markets including engines for on-road applications between the displacement range of 5.9 litres through 12 litres, and to have these engines manufactured in Cummins North American plants.

Westport will appoint the President for the first three-year term. The chairman will be Ed Pence, Cummins Vice President and General Manager – Heavy Duty Engine Business.

The joint venture will now have a term of ten years. The JVA can be terminated under certain circumstances before the end of the term, including in the event of a material breach of the agreement by, or in the event of a change of control of one of the parties.

Live Conference Call & Webcast

Westport has scheduled a conference call for tomorrow, Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 5:00am Pacific Time (8:00am Eastern Time) to discuss this announcement. The public is invited to listen to the conference call in real time by telephone or webcast. To access the conference call by telephone, please dial: 1-800-319-4610 (Canada & USA toll-free) or 604-638-5340. The live webcast of the conference call can be accessed through the Westport website. To access the conference call replay, please dial 1-800-319-6413 (Canada & USA toll-free) or 604-638-9010 using the pass code 5261. The replay will be available until February 28, 2012. Shortly after the conference call, the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website and replay will be available in streaming audio.