Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Nio’s new EV brand Firefly will launch in Europe in the first half of next year. Opposite to Nio’s premium vehicles, the compact model 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 on early Sunday. The chief executive added later on that the company has already reached an agreement with many partners in Europe.
The brand was launched on Saturday at the company’s annual event after two and a half years of preparation.
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.
“Even so, Firefly is very competitive because it is a product developed with real smart EV technologies, which Nio has been investing in for a decade. We are confident in its product competitiveness.”
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.
With a pre-sale price of 148,800 yuan—equivalent to $20,400— reservations for the compact model can be made via the brand’s app since Saturday’s event. Deliveries start in China in April 2025 while Europe will follow shortly after.
Unlike Nio’s first second brand Onvo—which plans to offer a total of three models from the last quarter of next year—Firefly will focus on a single model.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
