Nio’s affordable sub-brand Firefly registered 680 vehicles in China during the week of July 14–20, rebounding from the prior week’s slump as the company finalized a production line adjustment at its Hefei facility.
The recovery follows a sharp 57.7% decline in registrations to 550 units between July 7 and 13, after the brand posted a record 1,300 units in the first week of July, according to insurance data shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
In late June, the brand launched its Battery as a Service (BaaS) program, allowing customers to purchase the vehicle without the battery and instead pay a monthly rental fee.
The move, initially planned to be launched only in August, lowered the model’s entry price by roughly 30% to 79,800 yuan, or about $11,120.
Although the production line adjustment concluded only on Tuesday (July 23), the improved delivery figure last week suggests a partial stabilization ahead of a planned output ramp-up.
Firefly’s head of marketing, Pu Yang, confirmed on Tuesday that the adjustment was complete and signaled an aggressive production push in August.
“Starting this week, we’ll go full throttle,” Pu wrote in a WeChat group.
“Let’s strive to reach a new high next month!” he added hinting at over 4,000 units delivered in August.
Firefly, which began deliveries in late April, delivered 231 units that month, followed by 3,680 in May and 3,932 in June — a 6.8% month-on-month increase.
As of July 20, cumulative registrations have reached 10,330 units.
The brand, positioned to compete with models from Mini and Smart, is preparing to begin European deliveries later this month, according to Firefly chief Daniel Ge.
While a precise launch date has not been confirmed. Nio plans to introduce both its core and Firefly brands to several European markets over the next 18 months.
In addition to launches already announced in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic, Nio and Firefly will expand to Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria until the end of 2026.
Although Nio has not published specific sales targets for Firefly, the brand is expected to play a key role in achieving the group’s goal of delivering more than 440,000 vehicles globally in 2025, as the $11,120 price tag for the Firefly model with battery rental plan can represent a volume driver to the company.
The group aims to sell 25,000 units per month from its two main brands in the fourth quarter, totaling 150,000 EVs in Q4, with additional volume expected from Firefly.
Earlier this year, company founder and CEO William Li stated that Nio intends for Firefly to represent approximately 10% of the group’s total sales over the long term.
