- Firefly is deepening its market penetration in Europe, North America, and Asia, it said, revealing for the first time its market expansion efforts will include North America.
- Firefly will soon open pre-orders in Austria, Greece, and Portugal.
Nio Inc's (NYSE: NIO) premium boutique car brand Firefly has shipped a large batch of vehicles to Europe and disclosed for the first time that its market expansion efforts will include North America.
A large batch of Firefly EVs recently officially set sail from Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Port bound for Europe, marking a further acceleration in Firefly's globalization process, the Nio sub-brand announced today on Weibo.
Driven by Nio's national distributor model, Firefly is deepening its market penetration in Europe, North America, and Asia, it said.
To date, Firefly EV deliveries have commenced in the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, and Denmark, with pre-orders soon opening in Austria, Greece, and Portugal, the brand said today.
Nio officially launched the Firefly brand at Nio Day 2024 on December 21, 2024, positioning it to challenge Mini and Smart. The brand's namesake first model was launched in China on April 19.
Nio originally planned to launch Firefly in Europe first, but shifted to a China debut due to higher tariffs on Chinese EVs in Europe.
On August 14, Firefly commenced deliveries in Europe, with Norway and the Netherlands as the first available markets.
From its April 19 launch in China to its first European delivery, the model took less than four months -- setting Nio Inc's fastest overseas market expansion record, Firefly said.
Expanding into North America
Firefly today mentioned for the first time that its overseas market expansion will include North America. It did not elaborate further, though it likely refers to Canada or Mexico.
The US market remains largely closed to Chinese automakers, while Canada's relations with China have recently improved.
Late last month, The Wire China reported that the Ottawa government was considering eliminating the 100 percent tariff on Chinese EV imports, aligning with China on EV issues.
This shift comes as US President Donald Trump's trade war severely disrupted the deeply integrated US-Canada automotive supply chain, with Canada seeking to negotiate lower trade barriers, the report said.
Canada imposed a 100 percent additional tariff on all EVs manufactured in China starting October 1, 2024, following the US government's actions at the time.
Prior to the additional tariffs, EVs produced in China faced a 6.1 percent tariff when exported to Canada. After the additional tariffs take effect, their tariff rate rose to 106.1 percent.
In Mexico, several Chinese automakers including BYD (HKG: 1211) and Zeekr (NYSE: ZK) are already selling vehicles.
