Chinese EV maker Nio Inc. registered 44 vehicles in Norway during June, extending the sequential growth to a fifth straight month.
According to data from the registration platforms EU-EVs and Elbilstatistikk, the Firefly sub-brand accounted for 27 of the 44 units, while the premium Nio brand contributed 17 — split between 15 EL6 SUVs and two EL8 SUVs.
No ET5 or ET5 Touring registrations were recorded in the month.
June marked the sixth consecutive month of sequential improvement for Nio Inc. in Norway, extending an unbroken climb that began after the company posted its weakest Norway sales month in three years in January.
By then, only nine vehicles were registered — following Norwegian tax changes that dented demand across the broader auto market.
Including the latest figures, the Shanghai-based EV maker has registered 161 vehicles across the Nio and Firefly brands in Norway year-to-date.
June’s 44-unit result represents a doubling from the 22 vehicles registered in the same month of 2025.
The comparison is inflated by the fact that Firefly had not yet launched in Norway in June 2025 — the sub-brand’s first Norwegian registrations appeared in July of that year, though the first customer deliveries only took place in August.
Looking only at the Nio brand, June’s 17 units represent a decline from the 22 registered a year earlier.
Firefly Sustains Volume
Firefly has established itself as the volume driver for Nio Inc. in Norway over the past two months.
After registering 28 units in May, the sub-brand posted 27 in June — a near-identical result that kept it well above the premium brand’s tally for the second consecutive month.
The dynamic marks a shift from the first four months of the year, when the main Nio brand led registrations in the country while Firefly struggled to attract demand.
January saw zero Firefly registrations, and the sub-brand managed just four units in both February and April.
Firefly‘s chief Daniel Jin acknowledged earlier this year that early 2026 sales fell short of expectations, while maintaining the brand’s expansion targets.
The hatchback is positioned as Nio‘s most affordable vehicle, starting at NOK 279,900 ($28,200) in Norway.
Designed in Munich, the car targets urban EV buyers across Europe.
Jin has previously stated that Firefly is not considering an all-wheel drive version of its debut model, describing it as a city car for which rear-wheel drive should suffice.
The absence of an AWD option — a preferred feature for Norwegian conditions — had been cited as one factor limiting uptake earlier in the year.
Nio in Norway
Norway remains Nio‘s strongest European market by volume, having surpassed Germany.
The country was the company’s first international market when it entered in September 2021.
While Firefly held steady, the premium Nio brand’s June showing remained subdued.
The EL6 mid-size SUV continued to dominate the Nio-branded lineup, accounting for 15 of the 17 units registered.
The EL8 large SUV contributed two units, while neither the ET5 sedan nor the ET5 Touring wagon recorded a single registration during the month.
Contrary to other European markets, Nio is not subject to the European Commission’s tariffs on Chinese EVs in Norway, since the country is not in the EU.
The trade scenario makes it easier for the brand to import vehicles from China without having to raise prices.
Nio currently offers the EL6 and EL8 SUVs, and the ET5 sedan and ET5 Touring wagon in the country.
The company operates 20 battery swap stations in Norway — out of 60 across Europe — with the Oslo station being the most popular among consumers, according to the company.
A broader slowdown in demand for the company’s aging European lineup — which has not received model updates and will not until late 2027, according to statements made at a customer event in the Netherlands — may be weighing on the premium side.
Norway has been removed from Nio Europe entirely and transferred to the company’s Global Business department in China, headed by Chris Chen, as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s European operations.
European Context
The Norwegian improvement comes against a difficult European backdrop for Nio Inc.
Across the continent, the company registered 74 vehicles across eight of its European markets in May, with new distributor-led markets helping to offset declining sales in established territories such as Germany and the Netherlands.
Nio‘s European expansion in recent months — entering Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Greece, and Hungary through local distributors — has so far failed to compensate for weakening demand in its core markets, where the aging lineup and absence of upcoming model refreshes have weighed on buyer interest.
The company completed its 300,000th battery swap in Europe on June 21, even as the rollout of new stations on the continent remains nearly frozen.
At a customer event in the Netherlands in late May, the company told attendees that no model updates would arrive until late 2027 and no new battery swap stations would be added in the near term — a message that underscored the extent of the cost-cutting measures applied to the European business.
Nio‘s Norwegian unit issued a statement defending the company’s commitment to Europe earlier in June, describing media coverage of the company’s challenges as providing an incomplete picture of its operations.
Nio‘s co-founder and President Qin Lihong said earlier this year that the company aims to sell “several thousand” EVs overseas in 2026, with plans for a larger-scale international push over the next two to three years.
