Nio wants to grow its presence in Europe and will go after Volkswagen with a new brand focused on offering affordable EV models.
The company’s chairman, William Li, recently spoke with Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine where he revealed that one of the brand’s new models will cost less than €30,000 ($33,060) when it goes on sale. While he failed to provide any additional details about the vehicle, it will likely be sold through either the Alps brand or a third sub-brand currently known as Project Firefly.
Read: Nio Reportedly Working On A New Sub-Brand To Build $15,000 EVs
We’ve known about these two new sub-brands since August last year. Reports claim that the Alps brand will look to sell vehicles for between 150,000 yuan ($21,701) and 300,000 yuan ($43,402) from mid-2024 in China. Nio will then venture into an even more affordable market for EVs through the Project Firefly brand, aiming to sell vehicles priced between just 100,000 yuan ($14,467) and 200,000 yuan ($28,934). It was reported last year that the Project Firefly brand will operate independently from Nio and have its own research and development teams.
“Yes, in terms of price that means we are also attacking Volkswagen more strongly than before,” William Li noted in his interview.
The Project Firefly brand will operate an all-new factory to be established in Chuzhou city in China’s Anhui province, joining the two factories that Nio already operates in nearby Hefei city, Auto News reports.
Nio desperately needs to introduce a series of cheaper EVs in Europe if it wants to compete with VW and other juggernauts, such as Tesla. As it stands, its European models range from approximately €50,000 ($55,220) to €91,000 ($100,500), putting them out of reach for many.
During his interview, Nio’s founder added that the carmaker, as well as its Chinese peers, have a 20% cost advantage over rivals including Tesla because of China’s control over the EV supply chain and raw materials.
