Chinese EV maker Nio Inc. has registered 35 vehicles in Norway through the first 25 days of May, marking its strongest monthly performance in the country so far this year.
According to the European registration data platform EU-EVs, the May figure already surpasses April’s 26 units and continues the sequential improvement that has spanned the first months of 2026.
The Firefly sub-brand accounted for the bulk of the gains, contributing 24 of the 35 units registered in the month so far.
The remaining 11 vehicles came from the premium Nio brand — six EL6 SUVs, three EL8 SUVs, and two ET5 Touring wagons.
The same figures are shown by the Norwegian EV tracking platform Elbilstatistikk.
The Shanghai-based EV maker posted its weakest Norway sales month in three years in January — registering just nine vehicles after Norwegian tax changes took effect at the start of the year, which led to a collapse in demand across the broader auto market.
Monthly registrations have climbed steadily since, from nine units in January, to 15 in February, 24 in March, and 26 in April.
Including the partial May figures, Nio Inc. has registered approximately 109 vehicles in Norway across the Nio and Firefly brands year-to-date — already approaching a quarter of the 451 vehicles the Nio brand sold in the country across the full year of 2025, per EU-EVs data.
Firefly Drives the Volume
For the first four months of the year, the main Nio brand led registrations in the country, while Firefly failed to attract demand.
Firefly‘s chief Daniel Jin acknowledged earlier this year that early 2026 sales fell “considerably” short of expectations, while maintaining the brand’s expansion targets.
May’s preliminary 35-unit tally, however — with five days still to go — has turned it around.
While the main premium brand could see registrations decline month over month, the more affordable Firefly EV is already seeing a fivefold jump from the four units registered in April.
Firefly‘s contribution in Norway has remained modest compared to the premium brand for most of the year, in part due to the absence of an all-wheel drive option — which is preferred for snowy conditions.
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 performance should be sufficient.
The sub-brand is positioned as Nio‘s most affordable vehicle, starting at NOK 279,900 in Norway.
The hatchback was designed in Munich and targets urban EV buyers across Europe.
Norway Presence
Norway is Nio‘s strongest European market by volume — having surpassed Germany — though growth has plateaued since the company expanded to the country in September 2021.
The country was Nio‘s first international market and its entry into the European continent.
Norway is also the country with the highest EV adoption globally, with over 98% of all new vehicle sales being fully electric.
Preliminary registration data shows that Tesla remained the best-selling brand in the country during May, with over 2,000 EVs registered as of May 25 — and a 20.1% share of the EV market.
The Model Y represents nearly all units registered.
Volkswagen ranked second with 1,359 units (13.4%) spread across the ID.7, ID.4, ID.3, and ID.Buzz, followed by Toyota at 1,236 units (12.2%).
Contrary to other European markets, Nio is not subject to the steep European Commission 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 increase prices.
Nio currently offers the EL6 and EL8 SUVs, and the ET5 sedan and ET5 Touring wagon in the country.
The EL6 — the brand’s entry-level SUV — has consistently been the best-selling model in the Norwegian market.
The EV maker 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.
Business Model Changes
The sequential sales improvement comes as Nio restructures its European operations after demand for its EVs failed to pick up.
The company has been adjusting its sales model in Europe since last year, moving from direct sales to distributor partnerships in several markets.
Nio Europe — previously a single top-level department overseeing all of the company’s operations on the continent — has been broken into six units, according to an internal email seen by EV.
The most consequential change was the creation of Europe Sales & Network Development, tasked with “expanding sales channels via General Distributors or Dealerships across Europe,” excluding Norway.
Norway has been removed from Nio Europe entirely and transferred to the company’s Global Business department in China, headed by Chris Chen.
The company is also revising its retail footprint across Europe. By partnering with local distributors in new markets, Nio avoids incurring in extra fixed costs with infrastructure.
In Norway, and according to BilNytt.no, Nio has been trying for some time to exit its expensive Karl Johans gate lease.
The Nio House on Karl Johans gate is now one of only two downtown showrooms operated by EV brands in Oslo, after Lucid Motors closed its flagship showroom on the same street in mid-May to consolidate operations at its Rud service center in Bærum.
European Context
The Norwegian recovery comes against a subdued European backdrop.
Nio Inc. registered 45 vehicles across its ten European markets in April, a seven-unit decline from a year ago — when the company only operated in five European countries and sold its premium main marque exclusively.
The brand’s European expansion in recent months — entering Belgium, Portugal, Austria, Greece and Hungary through partnerships with local distributors — has so far failed to compensate for declining sales in established markets, where demand has weakened significantly.
In April, Nio sold just one vehicle in Germany — an 18-unit decline from the same month a year ago. In the Netherlands, the company sold six vehicles, all from the Firefly sub-brand, with the premium Nio brand failing to register a single vehicle in the Dutch market for the first time since entering the country in October 2022.
The April figures also coincided with Nio‘s monthly exports hitting their worst level since the company restarted overseas shipments, with data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showing the group exported just 44 vehicles in April across all three brands — Nio, Onvo and Firefly.
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 expansion over the next two to three years.
