Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio is merging the business units of its two sub-brands Onvo and Firefly, integrating them into its core operations as part of an ongoing internal restructuring, local media outlet 36Kr reported on Friday.
Over the last months, the company has also been reducing headcount and merging roles across the US, Europe and China, aiming to consolidate infrastructure and cut fixed costs.
Two sources told EV last month that Nio is targeting a 25% reduction in global operational expenses as it aims to reach profitability in the final quarter of this year.
Citing an internal company email, 36Kr’s report said latest changes affect multiple departments across the two brands, with a particular focus on Onvo’s product development, user services, and vehicle marketing functions, as well as the Firefly business unit.
According to the report, Nio’s Product Design & Development (PD&D) cluster will create a new first-level department dedicated to Onvo, reporting directly to CEO William Li.
The new unit will oversee Onvo’s product experience, project management, design, and vehicle engineering teams. A separate Onvo Product Line department is also being formed, according to the report.
Nio’s User Experience (UE) cluster will set up a parallel first-level department for Onvo’s user services, led by recently appointed executive Shen Fei. The team will absorb Onvo’s original planning and operations, regional sales strategy, sales execution, sales management, and marketing functions.
Onvo’s marketing planning department and regional sales companies will also be folded into the UE cluster.
The Firefly brand, which targets the compact EV segment, is now also being integrated into the PD&D cluster, though further details of its restructuring were not disclosed.
The consolidation follows weaker-than-expected performance from Onvo’s debut model, the L60, which failed to meet internal sales expectations, CEO William Li said during the company’s March earnings call.
With the latest adjustments, Nio has effectively folded Onvo into its main organization, spanning management, product development, sales, and user operations. While Onvo retains its sub-brand identity, it now operates entirely as a first-level department within Nio.
The integration of Firefly is reportedly even more extensive, as Nio moves toward sharing resources across its three brands.
The moves are part of broader cost-cutting efforts at the Shanghai-based EV maker. Nio has recently begun displaying the Onvo L60 in its premium Nio Houses and Nio Spaces, in a shift away from its original strategy of separating premium and mass-market brand experiences.
In a separate internal email dated mid-April and seen by EV, Nio’s Human Resources department said Onvo’s Service Operations Department had been “canceled,” with its responsibilities absorbed by the group’s broader Service Operations unit. He Xiao will continue to lead Onvo’s Service Engineering Team under Carlos Wu, Nio’s Vice President of Service Operations.
Another internal memo reviewed by EV outlined changes to Onvo’s marketing organization. The Onvo Brand & Communications (OBC) department was renamed Onvo Marketing Activity Planning (OMA) and will now oversee brand strategy, communications, user growth, campaign planning, and official media channels.
The organizational reshuffle came shortly after Nio appointed Shen Fei, a longtime executive and former VP of Nio Power, to lead the Onvo brand in early April. He replaced Alan Ai, a former WeWork executive who had led Onvo since its inception under the codename “Alps” in 2021.
Ai left following a challenging market launch. In a March interview, he sad a rise in order cancellations in December had derailed the company’s plans to deliver 16,000 vehicles in January and 20,000 in March.
Although he publicly denied plans to resign, he stepped down shortly after March delivery figures were released on April 1. The brand’s number two, Xia Qinghua, transitioned to a role within the main Nio brand.
