The Firefly brand will rely on local partner outlets for sales in Europe, with construction costs for dedicated swap stations one-third those of Nio.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) will launch its first model under the Firefly brand in Europe in the first half of next year, said William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker.
Li mentioned the plan during a question-and-answer session with media, including CnEVPost, in Guangzhou, Guangdong province today.
Nio launched the Firefly brand and debuted the sub-brand's first model at Nio Day 2024 in Guangzhou yesterday.
The battery electric vehicle (BEV) model went on pre-sales in China yesterday at a price of RMB 148,800 yuan ($20,390). It will be officially launched in April 2025 in China.
The timeline mentioned by Li is more specific than what Daniel Jin, president of the Firefly brand, had previously mentioned. In an interview with local media earlier this month, Jin said that the Firefly model would go on sale in China in the first half of 2025, with a launch in Europe likely a quarter later.
Asked by CnEVPost which month the first Firefly model would be launched in Europe, Li didn't give a definitive answer, saying the company would need to plan with local partners.
Unlike the Nio brand's direct sales model in Europe, the Firefly brand will rely on local partners' outlets for sales, Li said.
For the Firefly brand, there will be one partner in one country, and it is possible for one partner to be responsible for sales in multiple countries, he said.
In the long term, Nio's main brand and the Onvo sub-brand may also adopt this strategy, Li said.
Nio has already signed up several partners in Europe regarding the Firefly brand, who saw the first model in Frankfurt, Germany, in June and gave positive feedback, according to Li.
The company originally planned to launch the Firefly brand and its first model in Europe first, but then changed its strategy to have the model launched in China first.
Without the additional tariffs in Europe, Nio could have launched the Firefly brand in Europe much earlier, Li said.
The EU's anti-subsidy investigation into BEV imports from China ended on October 29, and a five-year policy of additional tariffs came into effect on October 30.
Different carmakers face different tariff rates, ranging from 7.8 percent for Tesla China to 35.3 percent for SAIC Motor. Nio and some of its other local peers face tariffs of 20.7 percent, which are additional to the original 10 percent.
Even with the extra tariffs, Firefly is competitive in Europe, although sales could be affected, Li said.
Firefly cars will also be able to use battery swap stations like the Nio and Onvo models to get a fully charged battery quickly.
Firefly's dedicated battery swap stations cost a third as much to build in Europe as the Nio brand and can be assembled quickly, Li said today.
The sub-branded battery swap stations are designed to be deployed faster and at lower cost, he said.
The company will also work with local partners on infrastructure development, according to Li.
($1 = RMB 7.2966)
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