DURHAM, N.C.-- Cree, Inc. extends its Cree Edge High Output (HO) LED luminaire series with TrueWhite® Technology to bring industry-leading 90 CRI color quality and performance to outdoor lighting applications. The high-performance luminaire delivers superior color rendering with unprecedented high-output 5000K illumination. Designed for automotive dealership front lines, exterior retail applications and other high-lumen applications requiring high color quality, the Cree Edge HO TrueWhite luminaire showcases inventory in vivid light while saving significantly on energy and maintenance costs compared to the metal halide fixtures it replaces.

 "In the automotive dealership industry, we depend on our ability to beautifully display vehicles where customers make their first impressions - on the front line," said Scott Gruwell, general manager, Courtesy Chevrolet. "Cree understands the sales benefits of dramatically enhancing curb appeal with more vivid colors, allowing us to keep selling cars long after dark. With the introduction of the Cree Edge HO TrueWhite luminaire, dealerships get remarkable color quality without having to compromise on energy and maintenance savings, helping to improve the bottom line."

 Utilizing Cree's Automotive FrontlineOptic™ technology, the Cree Edge HO TrueWhite luminaire precisely delivers light on the front row of a car dealership’s inventory, improving the appearance of the property’s highest-profile area and enabling auto dealers to use one Cree Edge luminaire to replace up to four metal halide fixtures typically needed on each pole to properly illuminate the front line. Compared to metal halide fixtures that can lose up to 40 percent of their initial light output after just one year of operation, the Cree Edge HO TrueWhite luminaire delivers both consistent light output and superior color quality while using 70 percent less energy. The new luminaire is covered by Cree’s industry-leading 10-year limited warranty.

 "Cree engineered the Cree Edge HO TrueWhite luminaire to provide a no-compromise, high-output luminaire that offers enhanced color quality, improved illumination performance and greater reliability with a decade of virtually maintenance-free operation, all in one revolutionary luminaire," said Greg Merritt, Cree vice president, marketing, lighting.

 The Cree Edge High Output TrueWhite LED luminaire is sold through Cree lighting sales channels. Please visit www.cree.com/lighting/EdgeHO to learn more.

 About Cree

Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and making energy-wasting traditional lighting technologies obsolete through the use of energy-efficient, mercury-free LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting and semiconductor products for power and radio-frequency (RF) applications.

Cree's product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and RF devices. Cree® products are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, electronic signs and signals, power supplies and solar inverters.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com/lighting.

This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the risk that actual savings will vary from expectations; the risk that we may be unable to manufacture these new products with sufficiently low cost to offer them at competitive prices or with acceptable margins; the risk we may encounter delays or other difficulties in ramping up production of our new products; customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2013, and subsequent filings.

Cree and TrueWhite are registered trademarks, and Cree Edge and FrontlineOptic are trademarks of Cree, Inc.