Launch of Nio brands could offer opportunities to UK dealers
Motor Trade News.
Launch of Nio brands could offer opportunities to UK dealers
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23/12/2024
UK dealer groups could see yet another set of Chinese brands providing franchise opportunities as Nio confirms its intentions to enter the market.
The company, itself only 10 years old, is set to bring both its Onvo and newly announced Firefly brands to the UK market in 2025.
While Nio has yet to reveal any details of its sales strategy, the host of Chinese brands that have launched onto the UK market over the past two years have almost entirely chosen the traditional dealer route over agency models.
Industry journal Automotive News Europe has quoted Nio product planning head Eric Yu as stating that Nio intends to launch its Onvo brand in the UK ahead of the rest of Europe, due to the European tariffs – the company has been selling cars in Europe since 2021 and the tariffs have increased from 10 to 31% this year.
Now at its annual ‘Nio Day’ the Chinese company has revealed a third brand, which it is currently calling Firefly. Both its products and those of Onvo will be value-focused vehicles, increasing the importance of avoiding tariffs to keep its price low.
The first Onvo vehicle on sale will be the L60 coupe-SUV, predicted to arrive in early 2025 and rivalling the Tesla Model Y. The initial Firefly product will be a small electric hatchback targeting the likes of the Renault 5. It will be the first of what its makers describe as “small, smart, high-end electric cars with a key focus on design, safety, space, intelligence and energy efficiency for active urban lifestyle users.”
A launch date or pricing for the initial Firefly offering is yet to be announced, as has how it will be sold in the UK. Chinese pricing for the car will start from the equivalent of £16,000 and even with higher UK costs it is expected to become one of the cheapest EVs on sale.
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