Electric vehicle maker Nio said on Monday that it will begin European deliveries of its entry-level sub-brand Firefly on August 14, starting with customers in the Netherlands and Norway.
The announcement, made as Nio marked the 10th anniversary of its European design studio in Germany, comes after deliveries were originally scheduled to start in late July.
“In June this year, Nio announced it would expand into 11 new European markets over the next two years through a national general agency model,” the company wrote on Weibo.
“On August 14, Firefly will also begin deliveries in Norway and the Netherlands,” the brand added.
Firefly, positioned as a lower-cost rival to MINI and Smart, launched in China at the end of 2024 and deliveries began in late April. The brand delivered its first 10,000 vehicles in 97 days.
In July, it delivered 2,366 vehicles in China, down 39.8% from June. The brand has delivered a cumulative total of 10,209 units since initial handovers began.
Nio has not disclosed any production disruptions, though Firefly’s head of marketing said last week that earlier issues had been resolved and forecast a new monthly delivery record for August as output ramps up at the Hefei plant.
Test drive fleets have already reached Europe, with six Firefly vehicles registered in both Norway and the Netherlands in the last eight weeks.
Norwegian registrations were first recorded in July, according to the national EV database Elbil Statistikk, and will be used for public test drives.
In the Netherlands, test drives began on July 7 and are available through the local Nio App in 90- or 120-minute slots, with cars available in cities including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht.
Orders are due to open in the third quarter, with Norwegian prices starting at NOK 279,900 ($27,340). In the Netherlands, Firefly is priced from €29,900 ($34,670), targeting a competitive segment that includes offerings from Renault and BYD.
Firefly’s European version features market-specific tuning to differentiate it from the Chinese model, including adjustments to handling, suspension, and steering to better align with local consumer expectations.
Norway was Nio’s first market outside China when it entered in late 2021.
Firefly is expected to roll out to additional European markets over the coming quarters.
In June, Nio confirmed that the brand would expand to Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania, with four more — Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria — to follow in 2025 and 2026.
The brand targets entry into more than 15 European countries by the end of 2026.
Norway’s exemption from EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs and its high EV penetration rate make it a key testbed for Firefly’s broader ambitions in Europe.