NIO has announced that it is planning on launching a new value-focused vehicle brand – codenamed Firefly – focused on European markets for 2024. The company is looking to initially offer a small electric vehicle that will support battery swapping at a target price of £23,500 (€26,650). CEO William Li has attributed the decision to strong European demand for small electric vehicles and relatively weak Chinese demand. NIO’s budget brands, codenamed Firefly and Alps, will originate within Europe and spread from there according to NIO president Lihong Qin. Both brands are going to feature NIO’s battery-swap technology, but due to the smaller size of these models they will not be able to use the company’s swap stations and will require…