Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Two vehicles from Nio’s sub-brand Firefly were spotted in Sweden, partially covered in camouflage tape, according to an image shared on the social media platform Reddit on Sunday.
Although Firefly’s exterior design was officially unveiled in late December, both the white and light green vehicles were seen with camouflage tape, a technique commonly used by automakers testing prototypes.
The interior of the compact EV, in which the company bet heavily to offer more interior space than its direct competitors, is expected to be revealed in February.
Nio entered the Swedish market in October 2022 with the launch of its ET5 and ET7 sedans. While the timeline for the arrival of its first sub-brand, Onvo, in Sweden and other European markets remains unclear, Nio’s founder and CEO, William Li, stated late last year that Firefly would debut in Europe in the first half of this year.
Despite Nio not having entered the Czech Republic market, both Firefly prototypes displayed Czech Republic license plates.
The country is frequently used by several non-European automakers to register prototypes for road testing in the old continent, thanks to the streamlined system provided by the Czech Republic.
European Launch
Opposite to the strategy of the group’s main brand, the compact model from Firefly will be sold via a distribution partner established in each country.
“We need the partners to be fully ready,” the Founder and CEO William Li said in a media session in which EV participated last month. The chief executive added later on that the company has already reached an agreement with many partners in Europe.
Li admitted that the brand was initially planned to be launched in Europe, however, the plan changed after the recently introduced tariffs by the European Commission which affected Nio with an extra 21.7% duties.
With a pre-sale price of 148,800 yuan ($20,480), deliveries will start in China in late April, with the European and other global markets following later in the year.
Firefly’s Battery Swap Stations
The EV maker has specifically designed the new battery swap stations for Firefly vehicles with Europe in mind aiming to make the construction faster and significantly cheaper.
According to Li, the cost of building these stations in Europe will be about one-third of the cost of Nio’s fourth-generation battery swap stations which serve both Nio and Onvo customers.
The redesigned battery swap stations are expected to be constructed at one-third of the cost of Nio’s existing stations in China, while also requiring fewer resources for transportation and assembly at Nio’s assembly plant located outside Budapest, Hungary.
Pre-Orders Exceed Expectations
Daniel Jin Ge, head of Nio’s newly launched sub-brand Firefly, revealed that pre-orders for its compact EV have exceeded the company’s expectations, with the majority placed on the night of its launch on December 21.
The final price is still unknown, and the first deliveries are planned to start in China in late April.
“Regarding orders, while we don’t disclose exact figures, the number of registered users on the app, the [WeChat] mini-program, and orders placed has exceeded expectations. The highest number of orders came on the launch night, accounting for 50% of the total so far,” Daniel stated.
