Shanghai-based EV maker Nio will open its first multi-brand store in China on Wednesday, bringing together its three brands — Nio, Onvo, and Firefly — in a single location aiming to reduce costs.
Last month, upon celebrating the production of its one millionth vehicle, Nio said it planned to roll out the first batch of these stores across China ahead of the Spring Festival in February — also known as the Chinese New Year Holiday.
By then, President Lihong Qin stated that Nio‘s business plan for 2026 is to “sell cars well, provide good service, and build infrastructure well.”
To achieve this, the company plans to expand this store model into lower-tier cities that have shown strong sales potential, targeting coverage of approximately 210 prefecture-level cities.
The first multi-brand store, which Nio is calling the ‘Sky Store,’ is set to debut this Wednesday in Jiangmen, in the Guangdong province.
The delivery and service center will become one of the first nationwide outlets to integrate pre-sales, after-sales and vehicle delivery in a single store, according to the company.
The first combined store opens as demand for both Onvo and Firefly — which Nio hopes to promote and raise awareness of through these locations — hit record lows.
Deliveries
Last month, the Nio Group delivered 27,182 vehicles, nearly doubling from the 13,863 units registered in January 2025, mostly driven by its main premium marque and the new ES8.
Despite the surge, however, its sub-brand Onvo registered its weakest month since it launched in September 2024 — delivering 3,481 vehicles.
The figure represented a 41% decline from January 2025 and a 62% drop from December, as the auto industry typically slows at the start of the year and reduced incentives in China weighed on demand.
The Onvo L90, which launched last summer, led the brand’s deliveries above 15,000 monthly units between August and October.
Onvo has launched several limited editions for both the L60 and the L90 SUVs in the past few months, in order to maintain and/or increase demand for its models.
However, January marks the third consecutive drop in monthly sales for the brand.
Firefly, for which deliveries began on April 29, 2025, saw its monthly figures decline for the first time in six months in January.
Deliveries fell to 2,807 EVs, representing a 60.4% decline from December’s 7,084 units.
This marked the company’s second-worst month since it began full-scale deliveries, with only July performing worse at 2,366 registered vehicles.
Firefly, a more affordable brand, was quickly introduced overseas, including both Asian markets and Europe, where it launched last August through Norway and the Netherlands.
In an internal letter addressed to employees on Monday, revealed by local media outlet LatePost, founder and Chief Executive Officer William Li wrote that “Firefly serves as our pioneering brand for global market entry.”
“In China, our lineup is ‘Nio, Onvo, Firefly,’ while globally it is ‘Firefly, Onvo, Nio,'” he added.
Battery Swap
Over the weekend, Nio also achieved its 100 millionth battery swap in China, eight years after it launched its battery swapping service.
The company operates 3,733 battery swap stations as of Tuesday in its domestic market, with plans to build 1,000 more this year — reaching 4,600 by the end of 2026.
“We recognize the significance and value of battery swapping for users, and we clearly see its contribution to the company’s commercial success,” Li wrote.
