China's Nio delays Europe launch of Firefly EV to third quarter

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China's Nio said on Tuesday it would launch its Firefly electric vehicle in Europe in the third quarter, later than initially forecast, after it underestimated challenges involved in sales and service network expansions in the region.

The company unveiled the Firefly brand in December as a rival product to Mercedes-Benz's Smart and BMW's Mini and said at the time it would launch it in Europe in the first half of this year.

Nio's progress in Europe has been slower than expected due to the sales and service network challenges, Nio CEO William Li told reporters at an event ahead of the Shanghai auto show.

Nio plans to seek more local partners to expand in Europe and will announce some deal signings with European partners during the show, he added.

It has also developed a right-hand drive version of Firefly, the first of which will be ready to enter the market by October, said Nio's President Qin Lihong.

Nio is actively exploring expansion plans with local partners in right-hand drive markets including in Southeast Asia and the United Kingdom, he said.

Nio will sign a contract to sell cars into Singapore this week and eventually expects the Firefly brand to be sold in 20 countries and regions outside China, he said.

The company originally conceived Firefly as a brand that would boost its market share in Europe, but the European Commission in October imposed tariffs on Chinese-made EVs sold in the EU.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Nick Carey; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jamie Freed)

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