Chinese EV maker Nio Inc. launched an anniversary campaign in Norway on Tuesday, offering 5,000 kilowatt-hours of free energy and fees across 50 complimentary battery swaps to buyers of its premium-brand vehicles.
The offer marks the celebration of five years since Nio entered Norway in September 2021, its first market outside China. Since expanding to the Nordic market, Nio has registered 3,602 vehicles.
Buyers of the EL8, EL6, ET5 Touring and ET5 who opt for Battery as a Service (BaaS), the company’s battery-leasing structure, qualify for the credits, which are valid for one year from delivery.
Energy can be redeemed at Nio’s fast-charging and battery-swap stations across Europe.
Firefly, the group’s entry-level sub-brand, is excluded.
Its vehicles are not currently compatible with the battery swap stations operating in Europe, as only the fifth-generation stations, recently launched in China, offer battery swap solutions for the compact car.
The campaign cannot be combined with other active promotions and runs through December 31.
August Sales
By excluding Firefly, the promotion directs its incentive at the four models that have struggled to attract volume in Norway this year.
Registration data from Elbilstatistikk shows Nio Inc. registered 35 vehicles in Norway during August, up 75% from the 20 units posted in July.
Firefly accounted for 18 of those units, while the premium Nio brand contributed 17 — split between 13 EL6 SUVs, two ET5 Touring wagons, one ET5 sedan and one EL8 SUV.
The premium lineup — EL6, EL8, ET5 and ET5 Touring — consists of 2023 and 2024 model-year vehicles on Nio‘s older NT 2.0 platform.
August marked the first month since May in which Firefly and Nio ran nearly level in the country.
For the third quarter through August, Nio Inc. registered 56 vehicles across the two brands in Norway — 24 Firefly units and 32 Nio-branded vehicles.
Year-to-date registrations stand at 223 units, with 96 from Firefly and 137 from Nio, according to Elbilstatistikk.
Firefly has relied on price cuts to sustain demand. Nio slashed the sub-brand’s starting price by roughly 17% to NOK 231,900 in July, the second reduction of that magnitude in under a year.
The Firefly discount runs through September 30, meaning the two campaigns will overlap for one month before the sub-brand’s offer expires.
Nio’s European Anchor
“Norway was our first market outside China and the beginning of Nio‘s European expansion,” said Managing Director An Ho, according to the company’s announcement. “Five years later, we continue to invest for the long term in both Norway and Europe.”
Norway is the only European market where Nio still sells directly through its own operation with a named country manager leading the business.
Every other territory has been transferred to local distributors or operates under the company’s Global Business department in China.
An Ho, who succeeded Marius Hayler in late 2023, is the only country general manager still in place anywhere in Europe.
Norway’s position outside the European Union shields Nio from the 20.7% countervailing duty that Brussels imposed on the company’s China-built vehicles on top of the standard 10% import tariff.
The combined 30.7% levy applies in EU member states and has limited Nio‘s ability to price aggressively in markets such as Germany and the Netherlands.
Nio operates 20 battery-swap stations in Norway out of 60 across Europe.
A 105-vehicle batch produced for the Norwegian market arrived in July, though the company did not disclose how the shipment was split between the two brands.
Broader European Backdrop
The anniversary campaign lands amid a difficult stretch for Nio Inc. across the continent.
The company has closed four European locations in nine months, including a flagship Nio House in Hamburg and a sales-and-service hub in Weiterstadt, Germany.
German registrations fell 89.3% in the first seven months of 2026, to 18 units from 168 a year earlier.
A company spokesperson told the South China Morning Post in August that Nio has no plans to retreat from Europe.
The denial was the company’s second in three months, following a June statement from Nio Norway describing media coverage of the European challenges as giving an incomplete picture.
Distributor-led markets have provided some counterweight.
Portugal overtook Norway as the group’s largest single European market in July at 32 units, and Belgium, Greece, Austria, Hungary and Denmark have all begun contributing volume through local partners.
Still, the European lineup remains frozen, with no model refreshes or new swap stations scheduled before late 2027 at the earliest.
The anniversary offer gives Norwegian buyers of the aging premium range an energy incentive that lasts a year — a bridge until the next generation arrives.
