Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio said it will enter the Thai market next year, marking its first expansion into Southeast Asia beyond Singapore and its most ambitious regional move to date.
The company plans to introduce all three of its brands — Nio, Onvo, and Firefly — in Thailand, with the compact Firefly electric car set to launch first as the group targets younger consumers. Thailand will be the first Southeast Asian market for both the Nio and Onvo brands, though the company has not yet disclosed the rollout sequence or model lineup for those marques.
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Nio has appointed Thonburi Bluesky, a subsidiary of Thailand’s Thonburi Group, as its local distributor. Thonburi Group has operated in Thailand’s automotive sector for more than 80 years and has served as a distributor and contract manufacturer for Mercedes-Benz. Since late 2024, it has also represented Geely in the Thai market.
“Thailand has high potential for driving the electric vehicle market, thanks to strong consumer demand, supportive government policies, robust infrastructure, and a well-developed industry,” Nio founder and chief executive Bin Li said. He added that cooperation with Thonburi Bluesky would enable the company “to systematically establish an EV ecosystem in Thailand.”
See also: Nio Expands Firefly EV Deliveries to Denmark and Greece as European Rollout Accelerates
The Firefly model is produced at Nio Factory Two in Hefei, China. Nio began manufacturing the right-hand-drive version on Nov. 18 and showcased the vehicle at Auto Guangzhou 2025 shortly afterward. The company plans to ship the first export batch to Singapore, following its launch in China earlier this year.
Nio said it has delivered more than 30,000 units of the Firefly hatchback globally, with sales already extended to several European markets including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands and Norway. The company aims to expand Firefly availability to 17 markets worldwide.
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The automaker’s Onvo brand, positioned in the mass-market segment, began sales in China with the L60 in September 2024, followed by the L90 this August. Deliveries of Onvo vehicles in China have surpassed 100,000 units, though exports have yet to begin. Nio has previously said it plans to introduce the L60 in Costa Rica and Uzbekistan next year, and has indicated that Europe could see its first Onvo launch in 2027.
Autostation , Eletric-vehicles