NIO to Launch Two Sub-Brands by End of Next Year

Chinese new energy vehicle maker NIO recently revealed its plans for future products, according to a report by domestic media outlet TechWeb on April 23. NIO stated that it will not be making an MPV model in the near future despite its recent popularity in the Chinese market.

Regarding the positioning of its sub-brands, Qin Lihong, President of NIO, said in an interview with the media that “Alps” and “Firefly” are both internal project code names rather than brand names. “Alps” is mainly aimed at the mid-end market and directly competes with brands such as Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen. “Firefly” will be composed of smaller models. Both brands are currently being prepared intensively and will be released by the end of next year.

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According to NIO CEO William Li, the future of electric vehicles will continue to be segmented into high-end, middle-range, and entry-level brands. It is not feasible for a single brand to offer cars that range from tens of thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan.

According to the plan, NIO will launch five new models in the first half of 2023. By June 2023, there will be eight NIO models available simultaneously for sale including three new models: ES8, ES6, and EC6. Qin said: “The second quarter this year would be a busy season for NIO.” In the next three months, six new models will be released and delivered.

Qin Lihong said that the NIO EC7 would start delivery in early May. The NIO ET7 2023 edition will be released and delivered in mid-May. The all-new NIO ES6 will be released and delivered in late May. The new NIO ES8 will start delivery around mid-June based on the NT2.0 platform. The NIO EC6 based on the NT2.0 platform will begin delivery in July. In addition, two new models based on the NT2.0 platform will also be released in June and July.

According to official data, NIO delivered approximately 31,000 new cars from January to March of this year. This represents a year-on-year increase of 20.5%, which is consistent with the company’s projected delivery range of between 31,000 and 33,000 vehicles for the first quarter. However, despite delivering around 10,400 units in March alone, NIO‘s deliveries exhibited a notable downward trend.