Chinese EV maker Nio Inc. registered 74 vehicles across eight of its European markets in May, preliminary data compiled by EV on Friday showed.
May’s total represents a 16-unit increase from the 58 vehicles the company sold across five European countries a year ago — when Nio sold only its premium main marque.
Every unit of that increase, however, came from the three newest markets to report — Portugal, Belgium and Austria — which contributed a combined 16 units.
Nio‘s original five European countries — Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark — registered a combined 58 vehicles, exactly matching the year-ago total.
Registration data suggests Nio‘s geographic expansion, which doubled its European market count in recent months through distributor partnerships, has added incremental volume without unlocking meaningful scale.
Gains in Norway — where Firefly posted its strongest month yet — exactly offset a continued collapse in Germany and smaller declines elsewhere.
As of Friday, Greece and Hungary, two of Nio‘s newest European markets, had not yet published May registration data.
Earlier this week, Nio‘s Norwegian unit issued a statement pushing back on media coverage, saying reports give “an unnuanced picture” of its European operations and insisting the company’s commitment “is not being slowed down, but further developed.”
The statement came two weeks after EV exclusively reported that the carmaker told European customers no model updates would arrive until late 2027 and no new battery swap stations were planned.
Additionally, a source within the company told EV earlier this year that Nio’s European registration figures have historically been distorted by its subscription model.
The dynamic — which continues to apply to the main Nio brand operating under a direct-sales model in its original markets — can delay or obscure the link between customer activity and official vehicle registrations.
Norway
Norway remained Nio‘s strongest European market by a wide margin, accounting for 43 of the group’s 74 registrations in May — its highest monthly figure in the country so far this year.
Firefly, the budget sub-brand launched in Norway last August, drove the result.
The compact EV model accounted for 28 of the month’s 43 registrations — its strongest month in Norway and nearly double its entire pre-December 2025 total in the country.
Premium Nio brand registered 15 vehicles, down 48% from the 29 units sold in May 2025.
Through five months, the group has registered 117 vehicles in Norway, according to data from registration tracking platforms EU-EVs and Elbilstatistikk — down 28% from 162 in the same period a year ago.
The Nio brand alone stands at 73 units year to date, a 55% decline from 162 when it was the only marque present.
Firefly has accounted for 44 of the group’s 117 registrations this year, or 37.6%.
The composition shift underscores a structural change in Norway.
Firefly‘s May surge followed a 0.99% financing campaign launched in April, with the company marketing battery swap access as a core advantage.
Norway is not subject to the European Commission’s tariffs on Chinese-built EVs, since the country sits outside the EU — making it easier for Nio to import vehicles without price increases.
Germany
Nio registered three vehicles in Germany in May, a 19-unit decline from the 22 sold a year ago and two more than in April — when the brand recorded just a single registration.
Through five months, Nio has registered 12 vehicles in Germany, down from 105 in the same period of 2025 — an 88.6% decline that reflects the continuing fallout from the company’s transition away from its subscription model in what was once seen as a key target market for the brand.
The company has consistently registered roughly 17 to 20 fewer units year over year in each of the first five months of 2026, as demand continues to erode.
As EV exclusively reported, Nio Germany’s chief David Sultzer was ousted by management earlier this year — followed by the exit of the country’s head of sales and operations Sven Conrad.
Both departures came amid a broader restructuring of Nio’s European operations.
Netherlands
Nio Inc. registered four vehicles in the Netherlands in May — all from the Firefly sub-brand.
The premium Nio brand failed to register a single vehicle in the Dutch market for the second consecutive month, after recording zero registrations in April for the first time since entering the country in October 2022.
Through five months, the group has registered 39 vehicles in the Netherlands, compared with 46 in the same period last year — a 15.2% decline.
Firefly has accounted for 33 of those 39 registrations, or 85%, while the premium brand has managed just six units since the start of the year.
The Netherlands was one of Firefly‘s two launch markets in Europe and has served as a testing ground for the sub-brand since deliveries started last August.
Denmark and Sweden
Nio Inc. recorded six registrations in Denmark in May — three under the main Nio brand and three Firefly units.
The three Nio-branded vehicles marked the first registrations under the premium marque in the country since the start of 2026.
All 11 units the company had registered in Denmark through April were Firefly EVs.
Through five months, Nio Inc. has registered 17 vehicles in the country, up from zero in the same period a year ago — reflecting the company’s relaunch in Denmark with Firefly after the main brand’s initial entry failed to gain traction over three years.
Nio sold two vehicles in Sweden in May, flat with the same month a year ago, according to monthly updates from Mobility Sweden.
Performance in the country has been volatile through 2026 — four units in January, zero in February, five in March, two in April and two in May — totaling 13 units year to date, compared with 16 in the same period of 2025.
New Markets
Nio‘s newest European markets — all entered through distributor partnerships — contributed a combined 16 units in May, based on preliminary data from the three countries that have reported.
Portugal led the group with nine registrations, making it the strongest-performing new market in the month and the third-largest contributor to Nio‘s European total behind only Norway and Denmark.
Belgium registered five vehicles, while Austria recorded two.
Greece, which ranked among the stronger early performers in the expansion cohort, had not yet published May data as of Friday.
Hungarian operations have not disclosed any 2026 sales figures so far.
Domestic Contrast
The European registration figures stand in sharp contrast to Nio Inc.‘s domestic momentum.
The group delivered 37,705 vehicles globally across its three brands in May — a 62.3% increase year over year and a 28.4% rise from April — driven by the ES8 and Onvo L80 SUVs.
Data from the China Passenger Car Association showed that the company exported 88 vehicles from China in May, up from 44 in April — which had marked the weakest month since the company restarted overseas shipments.
The premium brand has gone without an updated model or fresh lineup addition in Europe since the second-generation EL8 (known as ES8 in China) launched in 2024.
The third-generation ES8, introduced in China last September, has not been announced for European markets — leaving the lineup structurally exposed as competitors continue to refresh their offerings.
Co-founder and President Qin Lihong has said Nio aims to sell “several thousand” EVs overseas in 2026, with plans for a larger-scale expansion over the next two to three years.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer William Li has maintained the company’s goal of reaching 40 countries and regions by year-end, with newer markets served through distributors requiring far less capital than the direct-sales model Nio built in its original European markets.
