NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) CEO William Li, during the second-quarter 2026 earnings call on Tuesday, said that the company plans to maintain a single-model strategy for its Firefly EV brand in 2027 while rolling out special editions and technology upgrades. An iPhone-like Approach
Li, during the earnings call with investors, was asked about product cycle refreshes for the upcoming year. The CEO said that the NIO brand will introduce new models in the 5 and 6 series vehicles, while ONVO will introduce a "major strategic new product."
Speaking about Firefly, Li took a different approach. "For the FIREFLY brand, we will keep this single model strategy, but keep rolling out special editions and also technology upgrades," he said. Li likened the approach to the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, "where it will stay in this same product, but with new additions."
Li also talked about Nio's battery swapping stations, which can accommodate all three brands. He said that the cost of each fifth-generation station was approximately RMB 1.4 million (roughly $208,000). "We signed up with several OEMs regarding this power swap alliance, and we still have ongoing communications and also collaborations on some projects," he said.
Li pointed towards the popularity of Robotaxis. "We see power swap station and power swap service," he said, as a "good infrastructure support for the robotaxi business." Nio was exploring partnerships in the sector, he outlined. As for the revenue structure from the battery swapping stations, Li said that there will be an "admission fee," but said talks were ongoing.
Nio Earnings
The comments come as NIO reported revenue of RMB 32.14 billion (approximately $4.74 billion). The figure represents a 69.1% YoY growth for the automaker, while also being nearly 26% up from the previous quarter. However, the company missed analysts' revenue estimates of $4.78 billion.
NIO's year-to-date deliveries for the first eight months of the year came in at 262,893 vehicles. For Q2 2026, NIO delivered 107,658 units, which was up nearly 50%.