NIO's Multi-brand Strategy: ONVO Launches, the Third Brand Will Soon be Revealed

On May 15th, NIO's sub-brand ONVO held a brand launch event. Li Bin stated that the brand is positioned to meet the automotive needs of family users, with reference to the Toyota RAV4 in the era of fuel cars and the Tesla Model Y in the era of electric cars. The launch of ONVO officially kicks off NIO's multi-brand route, with different brands targeting different target markets. Prior to the release of the second brand, there has always been discussion about the third brand "Firefly".

On February 20th, there were suspected exposure photos of the "Firefly" car on Chinese social media. From the pictures, the car overall is compact and rounded. And it is defined as a more youthful and sporty style, and is orientated more towards cuteness as compared to the luxurious and dignified main brand. Regarding the positioning of the third brand, NIO's CEO Li Bin stated that the third brand's relationship to NIO is like that between MINI and BMW.

(Image source: HiEV Garlic Bulb Vehicle Research Institute)

It is reported that the car is expected to fall into the NIO-FY small car project and will be mass-produced in the fourth vehicle factory in Anhui, Chuzhou in the future. Like ONVO, the new car will also use NIO's battery swap feature and it's expected to be priced under RMB 200,000. NIO co-founder Qin Lihong stated that the car is expected to debut in Europe in Q3 of this year. The brand is primarily designed to produce small electric vehicles for the European market, aiming at the mid-to-low end market. In recent years, Chinese auto companies have been trying to venture overseas, yet markets in developed countries like Europe and America have always been difficult to penetrate. The launch of this brand will become NIO's strategic move into the European market.

Multi-brand strategies are common in the business world, as they can establish brand images exclusive to target markets and tap into different audience markets, similar to what CHERY has done in recent years with the development of the layout of its four brands: CHERY, EXCEED, JETOUR, and iCAR. However, the management between multiple brands needs to be respected. If the planning and positioning are not clear, there will be a certain degree of homogeneous competition, and multiple brands also mean more resource investment.

As for whether NIO's multi-brand strategy will be successful, we can only wait and see the market's reaction. However, no sales data has been published since the release of ONVO.