Firefly breaks through the production capacity bottleneck. NIO will introduce the European version into the domestic market in the near future.

When the Firefly was launched in late April this year, Li Bin, the founder and chairman of NIO, revealed that NIO was internally discussing whether to introduce the European - tuned Firefly to the Chinese market as a separate version at an appropriate time.

Now it seems that the answer is yes. We've exclusively learned that NIO will soon release a "special edition" of the Firefly, most likely at the NIO Day in September this year, simultaneously with the launch of the third - generation NIO ES8.

This version is based on the European - spec Firefly. Compared with the two versions available in the Chinese market, this car will have a stiffer suspension and a more responsive steering wheel. On the scale between comfort and handling, the newly launched version will lean more towards handling. In terms of appearance, this car will feature a black paint finish that the current Firefly lacks. In terms of price, the new version is expected to maintain its previous positioning and won't differ significantly from the existing models.

NIO positions the Firefly as a global vehicle, so it has made two sets of calibrations to meet the different needs of the Chinese and European markets. When the Firefly was launched in April this year, Jin Ge, the vice - president of NIO and the president of the Firefly project, revealed that the main difference between the European and Chinese versions is that "in terms of handling, Europe requires a sharper and more agile driving experience."

Considering the general preferences of Chinese consumers, the Chinese - spec Firefly places more emphasis on comfort, offering a more relaxing ride. However, this calibration also weakens the driving pleasure to some extent.

The Firefly is positioned as a premium small car. Its competitors, such as the MINI and smart, have won market recognition for their flexible and precise handling. They focus on playability, which is also the label that the Firefly aims to create.

However, in the Chinese new - energy vehicle market, the market potential for premium small cars has yet to be fully unlocked. In July this year, the pure - electric MINI COOPER, a competitor to the Firefly, sold 1,707 units in China, which was one of its better - selling months. In most months after its launch, the monthly sales of the pure - electric MINI COOPER were only in the hundreds.

Perhaps for this reason, NIO, which was eager to boost sales at that time, adopted a conservative product strategy for the Chinese - spec Firefly.

In terms of driving experience, the Firefly's positioning is between the pure - electric MINI COOPER and the Geely Galaxy L6. The latter is in a proven market. In July this year, the Galaxy L6 sold 44,000 units, and the latest monthly sales of the BYD Dolphin were 12,000 units.

By moving towards best - selling models, the Firefly achieved considerable monthly sales in the initial stage. In the month after its launch, the Firefly sold 3,680 units, accounting for more than one - seventh of NIO's total monthly sales. Subsequently, in June and July, the monthly sales of this car were 3,932 units and 2,366 units respectively.

The sales decline in July was due to the production line upgrade of the Firefly, which affected deliveries. We've learned that the NIO Chuzhou factory only had 12 days of normal production in July. As a result, on the sales side, "almost all the display cars of the Firefly were sold out" last month.

Different from the newly launched LeDao L90, the sales volume of the Firefly has been growing slowly and gradually.

Last week (from August 11th to August 17th), the weekly sales of the Firefly were 875 units, a 27.9% increase from the previous week. With the completion of the production line upgrade at the NIO Chuzhou factory, the production capacity of the Firefly is ramping up, and its sales potential is expected to be gradually released.

We've exclusively learned that the total production of the Firefly this month is about 4,900 units. Except for less than 150 export - spec models, the rest are for the domestic market. The daily production of the Firefly this month is about 220 units, and it is planned to increase by more than 10% next month.

A few days ago, on August 14th, the Firefly started deliveries in Europe, initially entering the Norwegian and Dutch markets. By 2025, the Firefly plans to enter six more countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Portugal, and Greece. Starting from 2026, the Firefly plans to launch right - hand - drive models in the Singapore market and then gradually enter other right - hand - drive markets.

With the opening of the European market, there is still room for the Firefly's sales to grow.

At the end of July this year, NIO launched the LeDao L90. In the first three weeks of August, this car had a cumulative delivery of 6,400 units, making it the biggest hit in NIO's product lineup so far. The delivery issues that have long troubled NIO did not reappear with the L90.

After emerging from the sales trough, NIO is trying to make all its new products successful.

On August 21st, NIO started pre - sales of the third - generation ES8. Like the L90, this car is a large six - seat SUV with battery - swapping capabilities, but it emphasizes a more executive feel in its positioning. The new car no longer adheres to a price tag above 400,000 yuan. The pre - sale price of the entry - level model starts at 416,800 yuan, 80,000 yuan cheaper than the previous model. After adopting the Battery as a Service (BaaS) plan, the price starts at 308,800 yuan, nearly 120,000 yuan cheaper than the previous model. According to industry experience, the official price of this car may be further reduced when it is officially launched.

The LeDao has temporarily helped NIO out of the sales dilemma, and the pricing of the parent brand has become more practical. The Firefly has more room for error to explore its original positioning.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Automotive Pixel". Author: Xing Ruifang, Editor: Mao Shiyang. Republished by 36Kr with permission.