China’s Nio to delay Firefly electric vehicle launch in Europe

World World: Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio announced on Tuesday that it will launch its Firefly electric vehicle in Europe in the third quarter, later than previously expected. The company attributed the delay to challenges expanding its sales and service network in Europe.

Nio unveiled the Firefly brand in December as a rival to Mercedes-Benz’s Smart and BMW’s Mini. The company had previously planned to launch it in Europe in the first half of this year, but that timeline has now been pushed back.

Nio CEO William Li told reporters ahead of the Shanghai Auto Show that progress in Europe has been relatively slow. He also pointed out that Nio is looking for more local partners in Europe and some partnership agreements will be announced during the show.