- Nio said it is pleased to see China and the EU making steady progress toward consensus on the basis of mutual respect.
- China and the EU have reached an agreement on price undertakings for Chinese BEV exports, marking significant progress toward replacing additional tariffs.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) pledged to continue advancing its European operations after the European Commission on Monday outlined conditions for Chinese electric vehicle makers to replace EU tariffs with a minimum pricing plan, Reuters reported.
“We are pleased to see China and the EU making steady progress toward consensus on the basis of mutual respect,” Nio said in a statement on Tuesday, according to the brief Reuters report.
China and the EU have reached an agreement on price undertakings for Chinese battery electric vehicle (BEV) exports, marking significant progress toward replacing additional tariffs.
Both sides agree it is necessary to provide general guidance on price commitments for Chinese exporters shipping passenger BEVs to the EU, according to a statement released by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Monday.
The EU commits to following non-discriminatory principles and evaluating each price commitment under the same legal standards in accordance with relevant WTO rules, the statement said.
The European Commission formally launched an anti-subsidy investigation into imported BEVs originating from China on October 4, 2023, alleging they benefited from unfair Chinese subsidies that distorted the European market.
In October 2025, after concluding the anti-subsidy investigation, the European Commission decided to proceed with imposing additional tariffs for a period of five years. Discussions regarding price undertaking continued concurrently.
These tariffs were imposed on top of the original 10% base rate, with different EV manufacturers facing varying rates — Nio’s being 20.7%.
Over the past few years, Nio’s efforts to expand in overseas markets have focused on Europe, where it has opened direct-sales stores in several countries.
Notably, the company has begun shifting toward a more asset-light model reliant on distributors to expand into additional markets, using its Firefly sub-brand as the pioneer for overseas market entry.
Nio originally planned to launch Firefly in Europe first, but due to EU tariffs, it instead debuted the brand’s inaugural model, the Firefly EV, in its China home market on April 19, 2025.
In June 2024, prior to the launch of Firefly’s sole model to date, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said the company opposes the EU’s additional tariffs. However, he emphasized that even with these tariffs, Firefly would remain competitive in Europe.
Deliveries of Firefly vehicles commenced in Europe last August, subsequently expanding to additional European countries.
Last week, Firefly debuted the right-hand-drive Firefly EV at the Singapore Motorshow 2026, marking Nio’s first right-hand-drive model officially entering overseas markets.
Both sides agreed it is necessary to provide general guidance on price undertakings for Chinese exporters shipping passenger BEVs to the EU.
