Nio begins presales for third EV

Staff reporter and Bloomberg

Nio (9866) has started presales for its third electric vehicle brand Firefly earlier than planned, with prices starting from 148,800 yuan (HK$158,566) per unit as the carmaker faces concerns about low sales.

Founder and chief executive William Li made the announcements at Nio's annual customer event on Saturday in Guangzhou.

The new brand Firefly is aimed at more budget-conscious drivers. Its only model in China, featuring nine airbags, will go up against BMW's Mini and Mercedes-Benz's Smart.

The official launch will come in April 2025.

Firefly follows the launch of the Onvo brand earlier this year, whose first model competes directly with Tesla's Model Y sport utility vehicles.

Nio had originally planned to launch Firefly simultaneously in China and Europe but will now enter Europe in 2025, Li said. It comes as the slow ramp-up of Onvo, which delivered only around 10,000 vehicles in its first three months, has investors concerned.

At the same event, the 10-year-old automaker officially launched its flagship ET9 battery-electric sedan. Priced from 788,000 yuan, or 660,000 yuan if the owner opts to rent the battery, the executive four-seater is set to take on Porsche's Panamera series and Mercedes' luxury S range.

The ET9 is also Nio's most expensive car. Nio is aiming to double deliveries in 2025 and eventually become profitable, with Li saying it is the baseline to achieve probability in 2026.