Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NYSE: NIO) announced on Tuesday that its Firefly electric vehicle will now launch in Europe during the third quarter of this year, later than initially planned. The delay comes as the company faced unexpected challenges in expanding its sales and service network across the region.
Nio introduced the Firefly brand in December as a direct competitor to European models like the Mercedes-Benz Smart and BMW Mini. At that time, the company had intended to launch the vehicle in Europe by the first half of 2023.
However, the company has struggled to meet this timeline. Nio’s CEO, William Li, explained during a press event ahead of the Shanghai auto show that the slow progress in Europe is primarily due to difficulties in establishing the necessary sales and service infrastructure.
To overcome these obstacles, Nio plans to seek additional local partnerships and will announce some new agreements with European partners during the auto show, Li added.
Originally, Nio aimed to use Firefly as a way to gain market share in Europe. However, the European Commission’s decision in October to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles has added further complexity to the company’s plans.
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