China’s Nio says new Firefly EV to go on sale in Europe in H1 2025 By Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s Nio (NYSE:) on Sunday mentioned it might launch its new Firefly electrical car model in Europe early within the first half of 2025, betting that it might assist the corporate overcome European Union tariffs.

William Li, Nio’s CEO, instructed reporters in Guangzhou that the corporate will work with native companions on the sale and repair of the Firefly in European markets.

Nio unveiled the Firefly model on Saturday and touted it as a rival product to Mercedes’ Sensible and BMW (ETR:)’s Mini.

The corporate initially conceived Firefly to spice up its market share in Europe however the European Fee in October imposed tariffs on its and different Chinese language-made EVs offered in Europe.

Li mentioned the tariffs would “undoubtedly have” an impression on Firefly. “If there wasn’t tariffs, it undoubtedly would have a greater likelihood available in the market.”

“Even so, Firefly could be very aggressive as a result of it’s a product developed with actual good EV applied sciences, which Nio has been investing for a decade. We’re assured in its product competitiveness.”

Li additionally mentioned Nio would speed up constructing battery swapping stations in Europe with easier designs that save time and prices for building.

The battery swapping stations for Firefly vehicles will price a 3rd lower than these for Nio-branded vehicles in Europe, Li mentioned, including they’re additionally searching for native companions on infrastructure enlargement within the area. Infrastructure is a key bottleneck for EV progress globally, which has been slowing this yr.