Shanghai-based EV maker Nio announced that it will be offering a credit-based car subscription service for its Firefly sub-brand in its domestic market.
The “Firefly 7-Day Car Subscription” will be offered through a partnership between the sub-brand, Chinese Ant Group’s Zhima Credit, and the automotive platform SuperEV.
The collaboration was announced by Nio‘s founder and CEO William Li last Friday at the Guangzhou Auto Show and was first reported by local media outlet 36Kr.
Firefly 7-Day Car Subscription
Firefly’s program is China’s first credit-based car subscription service.
As of Tuesday, it remains unknown when the subscription model will be available.
Customers with a credit score of 800 or higher can access Firefly vehicles through the SuperEV platform for a 7-day trial, avoiding high deposits.
After the trial, customers can switch to a monthly subscription or purchase the car.
SuperEV, the first company in China to offer car subscription services, provides a tiered system ranging from 7-day trial subscriptions to flexible subscriptions of 1–12 months and long-term subscriptions of 24–60 months (2–5 years).
Nio Subscription
Nio first introduced a subscription-based model in European markets, where leasing is more common.
The EV maker entered Europe in late 2021, starting with Norway, and expanded to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark a year later.
At a launch event in Berlin in October 2022, the company announced that vehicles would only be available through a ‘Nio Subscription’ service in these markets, allowing consumers to lease but not buy them.
However, Nio reversed this decision two weeks later and introduced traditional buying options as well, after customer backlash.
“At Nio, we believe in the power of community and constant exchange. We value all opinions and ideas,” the brand stated then. “As a user enterprise, we want to grow and share joy together. William, our Founder and CEO, already shared that we will offer our models for purchase.”
Firefly Deliveries
Over the weekend, Firefly’s chief Daniel Jin said that the brand’s November deliveries will surpass October’s.
“In November, our delivery numbers will be more than this. Rest assured,” Jin said, referring to the 5,912 units delivered a month before.
The comment indicates that November figures will reflect a monthly record for the fourth month in a row.
Nio’s cheapest sub-brand began deliveries of its debut model in China on April 29.
The model has since expanded to Europe, with deliveries starting in Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Over the next months, the brand will be available across 17 markets worldwide.
Late last week, Firefly announced it reached 30,000 cumulative units delivered in just under seven months.
The company is planning to launch the second iteration of its debut model in 2027 while no new models are scheduled to be released in 2026.
