After setting its highest weekly figures so far in the last week of August, Firefly‘s sales in China have declined to 1,090 units — insurance registration data shared on Chinese social media showed on Tuesday.
In total, Nio group weekly registrations dropped 23.2% from the final week of August, in line with the typical pattern of slower starts and stronger finishes within a month.
XPeng, Leapmotor and Li Auto recorded comparable sequential declines ranging between 20% and 31%.
Nio’s entry-level brand sold 1,504 vehicles between August 25 to 31 and 1,090 in the first week of September, resulting in a 27.5% sequential drop.
The cheaper sub-brand of the Nio Group accounted for 4,346 vehicles and contributed towards the record 31,305 units registered by the Shanghai-based company last month.
Firefly sales also hit a new record in August, with registrations across its domestic market and the first vehicles registered across Europe — where it just recently started delivering its model, first in Norway and the Netherlands.
Firefly’s marketing head projected in late July a new monthly delivery record in August, as he stated that earlier production issues had been resolved, with output ramping up at Nio‘s plant in Hefei.
The brand introduced a limited-run special edition of its vehicle in late August, called ‘Nomadic Maillard’ and limited to 333 units. The vehicle sold out in just 30 hours, according to brand’s chief Daniel Jin.
Firefly is entering Greece, Belgium, and Portugal along the main Nio brand, through local dealerships.
On Monday, the brand’s debut model was ranked five starts in both the Euro NCAP and China’s NCAP safety tests, outperforming its direct rivals, the Renault 5 EV and the BYD Dolphin Surf.
Last week, when questioned about a possible second model under the Firefly brand in 2026, Nio’s founder and CEO Li swiftly denied the idea, saying that it is not planned.
The Nio Group is participating in the IAA Munich Auto Show from September 9 to 14.
However, Firefly’s model will not be showcased at Nio’s own booth, but instead at Horizon Robotics’ stand.
The Beijing-based chip developer announced in April that it was providing the chips for the Firefly debut model, as the Nio brand switches to the in-house developed Shenji chip and Onvo uses Nvidia’s Orin X.
