Nio will launch the Firefly electric hatchback in Europe in the first half of next year, Nio’s CEO William Li confirmed on Sunday. Unlike the Onvo or Nio brands, sales of Firefly will depend on a third-party dealer network.
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Firefly is the brand name and name of the first model. It is a compact electric hatchback aimed at young buyers. Firefly is Nio’s smallest and cheapest car, which poses some challenges: It won’t be able to use Nio’s battery swapping network of 2,900 stations because its battery pack is smaller than Nio and Onvo’s.
Nio also doesn’t build switching stations for Firefly in advance; they will install it “according to the user’s needs.” The container switching stations are smaller, cheaper and easier to install, said Daniel Jin, CEO of Firefly.
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Nio didn’t share many details about the Firefly hatchback during the launch conference, which mainly focused on the launch of the Nio ET9. The battery capacity, car dimensions, powertrain and whether it is RWD or FWD have not been revealed.
The car was designed in Munich by the European team led by ex-BMW veteran Kris Tomasson. From the photos and the presentation we know that it has hidden door handles, nine airbags, a capacity of 92 liters and a trunk of 1,250 liters with the rear seats folded. The turning circle is 4.7 meters and the car will be equipped with Nio’s autonomous parking technology, powered by a smart driving chip from Horizon Robotics.
Nio says Firefly is a global EV that will also launch in Latin America, Southeast Asia and other markets. The company also reiterated its goal of entering 25 countries by 2025.
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The three-round headlights at the front and rear, arranged like iPhone cameras, sparked much discussion in China. When asked about it at the media event, Li explained: “In terms of design orientation, you should take into account the preferences of global users. Sometimes one side may like it more, and the other side may like it less. I think this is completely understandable.”
The Firefly brand was launched on December 21. The first model will be launched in China in April 2025 and deliveries will follow soon. The pre-sale price of Firefly’s first EV is 148,800 yuan (20,400 USD). Based on Li’s announcement in the first half of the year, the European launch will take place in May or June.
It will compete with BYD Dolphin, Zeekr X and the recently launched Lynk & Co Z20 in China. In Europe, Firefly will compete with Volkswagen’s ID.3, BMW’s Mini and Smart #1 from the Mercedes-Benz & Geely joint venture. Firefly did not reveal the names of dealers or countries Firefly will enter first, but William Li said their partners “should be ready.”