Nio failed to register a single vehicle in Sweden in February, the first time the Chinese EV maker has posted a zero in the country since it arrived in the market in late 2022, according to official data from Mobility Sweden.
In the Netherlands — and despite the introduction of the considerably cheaper Firefly sub-brand — vehicle registrations dropped to single digits last month.
Figures from Germany, Europe’s largest automotive market, have not yet been released as of Tuesday morning.
However, January registrations represented a new three-year low with only one unit listed.
The company founded and led by William Li expanded to Norway in late 2021, with the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Germany following a year later.
In the Norwegian market, registrations more than halved year over year to 15 units in February despite the kick-off of Firefly deliveries in August 2025.
The February figures mark another chapter in the company’s European operations that appear to be shrinking rather than growing as several main markets post multi-year lows.
Last year, the premium pure electric brand began a new expansion wave giving up on its direct sales business model in all new markets such as Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Austria, among others.
Romania, Czechia, and Poland are currently in the preparation phase as the company looks to sell its two/three year old lineup.
UAE
The weaker-than-expected demand extends beyond Europe.
In the Middle East, where Nio expanded in late 2024 through a joint venture with its largest shareholder, CYVN Holdings, the company has already been forced to restructure its regional operations.
CYVN, the Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle, holds a stake of approximately 20% in Nio.
Last September, Nio’s co-founder and president Lihong Qin said at a media roundtable in Hangzhou where EV participated, that the Middle East and North Africa joint venture had recently made “fairly deep organizational adjustments.”
Qin acknowledged a slow start in the first half of the year, telling reporters the brand had “encountered some challenges” since its debut in the region in November 2024.
Official registration figures for the region are not publicly disclosed.
From EU Launch to Standstill
Nio entered Sweden in the final months of 2022, led by Mattias Lundgren, who joined the company in March of that year to prepare the market launch.
The first deliveries of the ET7 sedan to Swedish consumers took place in mid November 2022.
Two days later, Nio‘s first battery swap station in the country went live in Varberg.
The first official registrations appeared in January 2023, according to official data.
Full-year 2025 registrations totaled 156 units.
Of those, 60 vehicles were registered in December alone after an aggressive campaign on the ET5 series — including both the sedan and the Touring versions — which has led sales of the company by far in the market in 2025.
The ET5 and the ET5 Touring accounted for 134 out of the total 156 vehicles sold by the brand in Sweden last year.
The pattern heading into 2026 has been sharply negative.
January saw just four registrations, followed by zero in February — a decline of three units from the same month a year earlier, when Nio registered three vehicles.
Leadership Comments
The February data lands just days after one of Nio‘s most senior executives publicly acknowledged that the company’s European expansion was built on flawed assumptions.
Mark Zhou, Executive VP and Chairman of the Product Committee, said in an interview on the ‘Leaders Unplugged’ podcast last week that Nio made “fundamental miscalculations” when it moved from Norway into the broader EU in 2022.
Zhou said Nio‘s European teams repeatedly warned headquarters that the vehicles were too large for the market.
“A lot of our vehicles are big because they’re more tailored to the Chinese environment,” he said. “Our European colleagues kept telling us, your car, our cars are too big. Maneuvering in the narrow area is really painful.”
The executive also cited underestimated infrastructure costs and slower regulatory processes as key obstacles.
Aging Lineup
Part of the problem is product, as every Nio vehicle currently available in Sweden, is a 2023 or 2024 model year.
The company refreshed its lineup in China in 2025, but the updated models have not reached European markets.
Nio‘s campaigns page on the Swedish website returns a 404 error.
Customers can configure and order three models — the ET5, ET5 Touring and EL6 (the export name for the ES6 sold in China) — but the ET7 flagship sedan and EL7 SUV are listed only for interest registration or subscription.
The ET5 starts at 556,000 Swedish kronor ($60,100) including VAT but excluding the battery, which is offered separately through Nio’s Battery as a Service subscription model.
The subscription page shows five models available in Stockholm, with monthly prices ranging from 7,247 kronor ($784) for the ET7 to 10,863 kronor ($1,174) for the EL6.
The ET7 and the EL7 are marked as available from this week — but several other models, including the ET5 and EL6, are marked as currently unavailable.
Rivals Growing
Nio‘s disappearance from the Swedish registration data is all the more striking given the performance of its competitors.
Data from Mobility Sweden showed that 19,341 new passenger cars were registered in Sweden in February, of which 7,650 — or 39.6% — were fully electric.
The battery electric vehicle share grew 29% year-over-year, driven by what Mobility Sweden described as smaller and more affordable models reaching the market.
“Many brands that initially launched larger models targeting wealthier customers with the ability to charge at home are now launching smaller electric cars for a broader customer base, many of whom live in multi-dwelling buildings,” the organization wrote.
Among Chinese EV brands in Sweden, the contrast is notable.
Zeekr, a direct competitor in the premium segment owned by Geely, registered 101 vehicles in February, up 84% year-over-year.
The mass market carmaker BYD posted 112 registrations, an 81% increase. XPeng managed 59 units, a 3% decline.
Polestar, the Gothenburg-based brand owned by Geely, led the Chinese-linked group with 570 registrations in February, up 15% year-over-year and 27% from January.
Tesla registered 553 vehicles, down 10% from a year ago.
Battery Swap
The company currently operates eight battery swap stations in Sweden.
Late last year, Nio received approval from Svenska kraftnät, Sweden’s national grid operator, for those stations to participate in local grid frequency regulation through the FCR-D system, helping balance electricity demand during peak periods.
Nio opened its second Swedish showroom in February 2023, in central Gothenburg — the city where Chinese-owned automakers Volvo Cars and Polestar are headquartered.
The choice of location was symbolically significant at the time, positioning Nio alongside established premium brands in Sweden’s automotive heartland. Three years later, the brand has yet to gain meaningful traction in that market.
What Comes Next
Nio has announced that it intends to bring its Onvo sub-brand to European markets starting in 2027, with founder and CEO William Li making the commitment during a visit to the region last November.
The Firefly sub-brand was launched in the Netherlands and in Norway last August, with the other markets from the 2021-2022 expansion wave not receiving it.
The company also plans to expand Onvo to Costa Rica this year, marking its first market in the Americas.
