NIO president confirms its more affordable Firefly sub-brand will enter Europe in 2025
In a recent interview with media in Europe, NIO co-founder and president Lihong Qin confirmed the Chinese automaker intends to launch its family-friendly Firefly sub-brand in the market in 2025. This latest update follows nearly two years of speculation about the Firefly brand, in addition to a separate NIO sub-brand called Alps, both of which should join the EU markets.
It was mid-2021 when EV automaker NIO publicly shared its intentions to expand to new markets outside China, beginning with Germany. Since then, we’ve seen the company start selling its EV models across the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark alongside proprietary battery swap stations to support its unique business model.
Around that same time, NIO confirmed that a second, more affordable sub-brand was in the works to sell smaller EVs in China and Europe – its codename is “Alps,” and last we heard, was scheduled to launch in mid-2024.
Last October, NIO co-founder and President, Lihong Qin, shared more details of the Alps sub-brand, relayiong that the automaker does in fact intend to launch in Europe next year, beginning in markets like Spain and France due to higher sales of smaller, mass-market vehicles.
During this time, we wondered if NIO’s rumored third brand, codenamed “Himalaya” but also called “Firefly,” would join Alps in Europe. Following a recent interview in Europe, NIO’s president has confirmed as much… but we won’t see the cost-friendly sub-brand across the pond until 2025.
NIO’s Firefly launches in 2025, will we see Alps in 2024?
According to recent comments from Lihong Qin to Reuters, NIO’s affordable Firefly brand will, in fact, launch in Europe in 2025. While Qin did not share expected EV pricing, he did share that Firefly EVs will be smaller and designed with families in mind.
When we first reported NIO’s plans for the Firefly brand, it was rumored to be targeting models in the RMB 100,000-200,000 price range ($14k-$28k). The NIO President compared the tiered branding strategy to Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, covering multiple segments and price points.
With confirmed plans to launch in Europe, it appears Firefly will emerge as NIO’s base-level EV sub-brand, with Alps positioned between the two. We’ve previously reported that NIO is targeting a price range of RMB 200,000-300,000 ($28-$42k) for its Alps EVs, which appear to be further ahead in development than Firefly.
For comparison, NIO brand EVs are currently priced between 50,000 and 91,000 euros and are positioned in Europe’s premium segment amongst brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The automaker has previously stated its NIO, Alps, and Firefly marques will all operate independently with their own R&D pipelines and core teams, presumedly based out of China. Interestingly, Qin’s recent conversations with the European media included no mention of the Alps sub-brand, just Firefly.
Regardless, we should see an Alps launch in Europe by Q3 2024, with Firefly to follow sometime in 2025.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Fancy German-made mid-drives are often considered the premier option for electric bikes, offering higher precision engineering and an overall more sophisticated experience. But they’ve also been quite pricey, at least until Ride1Up began running an incredible sale on its normally $2,195 Prodigy XC electric mountain bike, marked down to just $1,295.
I reviewed the urban version of this bike back when it was at full price, and it was a great buy even at its MSRP. But now with this killer Black Friday price, this is a deal that is unlikely to ever be seen again.
The Class 3 electric bicycle can hit speeds of up to 28 mph (45 km/h), and comes with all the benefits of that nice Brose TF Sprinter mid-drive motor. That means you get the smooth and refined torque sensor-based pedal assist, the color screen, and the higher-end ride quality.
Other nice components found on the bike include the Maxxis Forekaster off-road tires, the Tektro quad-piston hydraulic disc brakes, and the 120mm-travel air suspension fork.
At this price, Ride1Up is almost certainly selling the bike at below cost, meaning you’re getting it for less than it costs the company to build these highly-acclaimed e-bikes.
Why would they do that? Because this is the previous generation of the bike, which was eclipsed by the second-generation Prodigy V2. But hey, if this bike was good enough when it came out a year before the V2 (and it was), then it still a great bike today. For those who don’t need the nicest and newest version of a piece of tech, this is an incredible steal of a deal.
Ride1Up is all but certain to be moving these Prodigy XCs at such a low price to clear up shelf space in their warehouse, so when these are gone, they’re gone for good. And this isn’t only a Black Friday price – the company has been moving these bikes for several months at this crazy sale price. That further underscores that this is a clear-out-the-previous-version sale that will be gone for good when the bikes are gone.
At this price, there’s simply no other German-made mid-drive e-bike out there with the bang-for-buck offered by the $1,295 Prodigy XC right now, that’s for sure.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Working oil pumps against a sunset sky.
Imaginima | E+ | Getty Images
Higher fuel prices could be in the cards if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his tariff threats on Canada, according to industry experts, who are skeptical on whether the new levies will ever be implemented.
Trump on Monday pledged to implement additional tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico on day one of his presidency, according to his posts on social media platform Truth Social. He said he would sign an executive order on Jan. 20 imposing a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, a move that may breach the terms of a regional free trade agreement.
Goldman Sachs’ Co-Head of Global Commodities Research Daan Struyven said that if a 25% levy hit Canadian crude exports to the U.S. “that could, in theory, lead to some pretty significant consequences for three groups.”
U.S. refiners who rely on Canadian oil barrels could face lower profit margins, and consumers may potentially face higher prices, surmised Struyven. Lastly, Canadian producers may suffer revenue losses if they are unable to reroute their barrels that would have otherwise gone to the U.S.
America’s imports of Canadian crude oil hit a record of 4.3 million barrels per day in July 2024 after the expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
If we were to see a 25% tariff on Canadian energy exports, I think it could have some very significant ramifications for trade flows.
Daan Struyven
Goldman Sachs
Additionally, refiners in the Midwest, which are more adapted to process Canada’s heavy sour crude rather than the low sulfur sweet crude produced domestically, could also have problems switching should the Canadian imports be interrupted, Struyven told journalists at an online conference.
“If we were to see a 25% tariff on Canadian energy exports, I think it could have some very significant ramifications for trade flows,” Struyven said.
Mexico and especially Canada have “notable tightly integrated linkages” with the U.S. when it comes to the oil, natural gas and auto industries, Citigroup wrote in a note following Trump’s announcements this week.
“Absent carve-outs, this would increase costs for U.S. refiners and U.S. consumers,” said the bank’s research team led by Energy Strategist Eric Lee.
However, Goldman highlighted that it is unlikely that the tariffs will be implemented as announced, on the premise that the Trump administration is focused on reducing energy costs.
Trump cannot allow inflation to get out of control in the 15 months before the midterm election season, Viktor Shvets, global strategist at Macquarie Capital, told CNBC. Shvets believes that tariffs are used as a negotiating tool to achieve certain objectives such as strengthening the border.
“I do not believe for a second that there will be a massive increase in overall tariffs because that will represent a tax on U.S. domestic manufacturers. That will also represent a tax on U.S. exporters,” said Shvets.
Canada’s trade bodies have shared their concerns, too.
“As Canadians, we need to be eyes-wide-open on the President-elect’s promise for across-the-board tariffs,” the CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Lisa Baiton, reportedly said.
Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta which accounts for the largest production of crude in Canada, said that the Trump administration has “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border,” and urged the federal government to resolve said issues immediately to avoid any “unnecessary tariffs” on Canadian exports.
On today’s fact-checking episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got a showdown brewing between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an updated 650 hp Kia EV6 GT that’s ready to take on the world, and some sweet deals on battery-powered goodies.
We’ve also got new electric buses at UCLA that are powered by inductive current in the road itself, and a massive new solar project on a site more famous for coal than clean. All this and a little bit of fact-checking on some fresh musky nonsense – enjoy!
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Learn more at this link.
Source Links
Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!
Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!
Read more: E-quipment highlight | Palfinger FLS 25 eDRIVE truck mounted forklift.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway