Nio’s second sub-brand Firefly said on Tuesday it began mass producing right hand drive (RHD) vehicles as it debuts in Singapore, Macao while preparing the expansion to Britain, Thailand, and Australia.
The company faced a major setback in the European expansion when the European Commission imposed extra tariffs a year ago on every imported fully electric vehicle, forcing Firefly to raise its planned pricing.
“On November 18, the right-hand-drive model of Firefly, the smart electric high-end small-car brand originating from Nio, officially entered mass production, with the first batch to be shipped to the Singapore market,” the company wrote on its Weibo account.
Speaking with Reuters, the brand’s chief Daniel Jin said the company is currently in talks with local distributors in the UK and in Thailand.
Tariffs and Market Positioning
Firefly said this Tuesday that the first batch of RHD vehicles will head to Singapore as it focuses on markets that have no tariffs in place.
“We will significantly ramp up our efforts in countries without tariff barriers in the short term,” Jin said before commenting on the positioning of the brand.
“One key point we emphasized during our negotiations with the distributors is that you cannot simply regard Firefly as just another made-in-China EV,” he stated. “If we lower its positioning, we’re done for.”
“One key point we emphasized during our negotiations with the distributors is that you cannot simply regard Firefly as just another made-in-China EV,” said Jin. “If we lower its positioning, we’re done for.”
The brand began taking orders for its debut model in Macau earlier this month.
Macau became the first market in which the company has opened orders for the right-hand-drive version (RHD) of the Firefly model.
RHD Spotted and Long-Range Variant
The right-hand drive configuration of Firefly’s debut model was first spotted in early October, at the company’s UK engineering facilities.
“Right-hand drive is a sizeable market, and we will be ready to build cars for the market,” Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said at a media briefing in April. “We will continue to go global with our Firefly and Onvo brands.”
Earlier this month, Nio said that Firefly‘s debut model will have a “long-range” variant — with a larger battery capable of delivering around 500 to 600 km (310 to 372 miles).
Business Strategy Overseas
Nio’s launch strategy differs by market.
The Shanghai-based group is shifting to a mixed business model overseas — maintaining direct-to-consumer showrooms in its existing markets while relying only on local dealerships in upcoming ones.
In Europe, both Nio and Firefly brands will soon start deliveries in Denmark, Greece, Austria, Portugal, and Luxembourg.
