Nio Submits Trademark Applications for SubBrands in Australia

Written by Cláudio Afonso | [email protected] | LinkedIn | X

Nio has been actively securing intellectual property rights in Australia since the early days of the brand. The first filing was in 2016 under “NextEV,” the company’s former name.

Since then, the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer has submitted a total of 43 trademark applications in Australia. The most recent applications include the names of its sub-brands, Onvo and Firefly.

Nio‘s entry into the Australian market would mark its first venture into a right-hand drive (RHD) country opening the door to several others such as the United Kingdom or Japan. Besides China, where it is headquartered, Nio is currently available in 5 European markets with expansion to the Middle East confirmed by the management in the previous earnings call two months ago.

“This year, we are also planning to enter into several new countries, for example, UAE. As we are invested by the Abu Dhabi strategic investors, so we are also preparing for the market entry and the sales and the service in that market,” Nio Founder and CEO William Li said.

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Of particular interest among these trademark applications is Nio’s upcoming sub-brand Onvo, set to be unveiled in a week, and another codenamed “Firefly.” While the official name for Firefly has not yet been announced by Nio, the name “Trio” also appears in the filings with the same categories as the code name “Firefly”.

According to official data from the Australian Government, many of the models launched by Nio have been trademarked, including some unseen combinations like EZ7, EE5, and EL9.

The trademark of Nio’s in-car AI powered voice assistant Nomi was not accepted by the Australian IP in 2018 which can be the reason for the company to register “Halo” and “Nio Halo” in late 2022.

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In 2018, Nio released a second interface for Nomi allowing customers to choose between Nomi Mate and Nomi Halo, a discrete version of the voice assistant with no screen.

Here’s the complete list of the 43 applications:

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Trademarks are used to protect brand names, logos, and slogans associated with automotive companies and their products preventing others from using similar marks that could mislead customers.

Last year, electric vehicle sales in Australia surged with over 87,000 new battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), a 161 percent increase from the 33,410 sold in 2022, according to official data from FCAI.

Tesla Model Y accounted for 33 percent of total electric vehicle sales, while the Model 3 sedan saw a strong 59 percent increase over 2022 sales. BYD’s SUV Atto 3 was the third best selling EV model in 2023 registering a market share of 13 percent.

Written by Cláudio Afonso | [email protected] | LinkedIn | X

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