News of the Firefly brand first emerged last year, with reports suggesting it would focus on vehicles priced between 100,000 yuan (~$14,000) and 200,000 yuan ($28,000). Nio is also believed to be developing a second sub-brand called Alps, which will offer models priced between 200,000 yuan ($28,000) and 300,000 yuan ($42,000), while leaving the Nio brand itself as the flagship.
During a recent online press conference, Nio president Lihong Qin revealed that the Firefly brand is coming to Europe in 2025, although he did not confirm how much the models will cost. He said that Firefly, like Alps, will produce cars for families, with Firefly's being smaller, Reuters reports.
However, Nio's boss did not reveal any details about the Alps brand in Europe. In October 2022, reports surfaced that Nio would launch this mid-tier brand sometime in 2024, first in China and then in Europe a few months later. It is expected to target markets where mass-market cars dominate the sales charts, as opposed to Germany, where premium models from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi are much more widespread. He identified countries such as France, Italy and Spain where Alps could first sell its models.
The Nio models currently sold in Europe are priced between €50,000 (~$54,500) and €91,000 ($99,300), making them far too expensive to sell in large numbers. The introduction of the Alps and Firefly brands will change that, and should make Nio cars a much more common sight on European roads.
The Firefly and Alps brands are said to operate independently of Nio and have their own research and development teams.
Source: Reuters
