Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio has unveiled its Firefly brand, aiming to rival premium small cars such as the BMW Mini and Mercedes-Benz’s Smart. The announcement was made during the company’s annual Nio Day 2024 event held in Guangzhou, China.
The Firefly, the first model under Nio’s third sub-brand, debuted as a compact, high-end battery electric vehicle (BEV). Priced competitively at RMB 148,800 ($20,390), the model matches the newly discounted price of the all-electric Mini Cooper in China. Pre-sales for the Firefly began today, with its official launch scheduled for April 2025.
Positioned as a premium small car, the Firefly offers advanced features, including support for Nio’s battery swap technology and potential integration with its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) program. Nio CEO William Li described the model as “smaller than a Smart vehicle and smarter than a Mini.”
The Firefly design emphasizes safety, with the car built to meet the latest crash test standards in China and Europe for 5-star ratings. The vehicle boasts a body structure incorporating 83.4% high-strength steel and aluminum alloys, a torsional stiffness of 35,700 Nm/deg—the strongest in its class—and nine airbags as standard.
Nio originally planned to launch the Firefly in Europe first but revised its strategy due to the European Union’s additional tariffs on Chinese BEVs, which came into effect in October. The tariffs add 20.7% to the existing 10% import tax for Nio, potentially affecting the brand’s competitiveness in the region.
Despite these challenges, Daniel Jin, president of Nio’s sub-brand, expressed confidence in the Firefly’s appeal. The model’s European launch is expected to follow its release in China by one quarter.
Chinese customers can reserve the Firefly for RMB 199, with a subsequent RMB 2,000 discount upon purchase. Existing Nio and Onvo owners can benefit from additional loyalty rewards, including bonus credit points of up to RMB 5,000 for select Nio ES8 Founding Edition owners.
With its strategic positioning and premium features, the Firefly marks Nio’s ambitious expansion into the global compact EV market, setting its sights on competing with established players like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
