Nio’s sub-brand Firefly saw its sales fall for the third consecutive week in China as it ramps up production of the debut model.
The brand registered 440 vehicles between June 9 and 15, down 12% from the 510 units sold in the first week of June.
Data released on Tuesday on Chinese social media showed that Firefly has registered about 4,730 units since deliveries began in late April.
Weekly registrations of Firefly, the rival of BMW’s Mini brand and Smart, peaked in mid-May with over 1,100 units recorded.
Last week, Nio Group — which includes the Nio, Onvo, and Firefly brands — saw insurance registrations in China rise to 4,730 units, an increase of 9.2% week over week.
Leapmotor and Li Auto outpaced XPeng last week, with 8,800 and 7,900 units registered, respectively, while Xiaomi trailed behind with 5,600 SU7s.
Tesla remained the top-selling pure EV brand, setting a new quarterly sales record with 15,500 units. It ranked as the second-largest new energy vehicle (NEV) brand overall, behind BYD.
Chinese giant BYD sold 70,300 fully electric and hybrid vehicles last week alone and has registered more than 1.2 million units domestically so far this year.
Earlier this week, two photos of a right-hand-drive Firefly EV in Australia circulated on social media, suggesting that the brand is testing its debut model in the country.
The hatchback was spotted uncovered but with its logo concealed, bearing a license plate from Victoria, a state in southeastern Australia.
Nio confirmed on Tuesday it is expanding to Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria before the end of 2026.
Over the next 18 months, both brands will also arrive in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria besides the already announced Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Test drives in the Netherlands and Norway are planned to start in the third quarter while over a dozen of other markets will join the list later in the year.
Earlier this year, the brand’s chief Daniel Ge said the expansion strategy was focused on markets with “relatively friendly policies, such as low tariffs, or favourable subsidies and traffic rights.”
The Firefly model is currently offered in China with the battery included, starting at 119,800 yuan ($16,700).
A version supporting Nio’s battery-as-a-service (BaaS) subscription—allowing battery leasing and access to the company’s upcoming fifth-generation swap stations—is set to launch in August.
In the meantime, buyers are being offered a 3,000 yuan ($415) charging credit.
