Nio said on Friday its sub-brand Firefly delivered 2,366 vehicles in China in July, down 39.8% from the 3,932 units sold in June.
Deliveries of the debut model began in the final days of April, with 231 units recorded that month and 3,680 in May and 3,932 in June. Cumulative sales now stand at 10,209 vehicles.
Although the company did not announce the start of any production disruptions, Firefly’s marketing head said last week that earlier issues had been resolved and projected a new monthly delivery record for August as output ramps up at its plant in Hefei.
Weekly insurance registration data shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo showed Firefly sales declining sharply during the month, falling from 1,300 units in the first week of July to 550 and 680 units in the subsequent weeks.
The final week saw a 70.6% week-on-week drop to a new record low.
Nio has not disclosed Firefly’s production targets but has guided for monthly deliveries of 25,000 units each for its core Nio brand and Onvo brand in the fourth quarter.
Firefly is aimed at the entry-level urban EV market, competing with models from Mini and Smart. When purchasing the model with the battery as a service program, the EV starts at 79,800 yuan — equivalent to $11,080.
While the brand’s European expansion began last month with test drives in the Netherlands, Nio has yet to report any deliveries in the country, despite earlier comments from Firefly president Daniel Ge suggesting that European handovers would begin in late July.
Test drives in Norway are expected to commence later this summer.
As the model is produced in China, the fully electric hatchback will also be subject to the 21% extra tariff imposed by the European Commission on Chinese-made EVs late last year.
In June, Firefly launched its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) subscription plan earlier than scheduled, reducing upfront prices by decoupling the battery from the vehicle.
The entry-level model now starts at 79,800 yuan ($11,080), a 40,000 yuan discount, while the higher-spec variant was cut by 31.8% to 85,800 yuan.
Battery rental is priced at 399 yuan ($56) per month.
Firefly was officially introduced by Nio founder and CEO William Li at the company’s annual event in December before an audience of over 22,000 people.
US-listed shares of Nio closed up 7.98% at $4.87 on Thursday and are trading 2.2% lower on Friday’s pre-market trading session.
