Nio launches Firefly sub-brand with small EV for Europe

Nio, the company famed for its innovative battery-swap technology, has launched a new ‘Firefly’ sub-brand aimed at conquering the increasingly competitive small electric car market. Its first car – a Honda e-inspired five-door supermini – has been revealed in China, with plans to reach Europe in the first half of 2025.

Firefly is the third brand to launch under the Nio family, with a specific focus on leveraging “Nio's decade-long expertise in premium” with the aim of exceeding expectations in “design, safety, space, intelligence, and energy efficiency”.

Revealed at ‘Nio Day’ in Guangzhou on 21 December, the Firefly brand made its debut with a MINI-fighting small car that the company says is available to order in China for 148,000 RMB – equivalent to around £16,000 at the time of writing. For context, the cheapest electric MINI Cooper costs exactly £30,000, while even a basic BYD Dolphin starts at £26,195.

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No specs for the first Firefly model have been revealed, nor is it clear at this stage whether it’d benefit from Nio’s battery-swap technology, whereby a discharged battery can be swapped out for a fully charged one in less than five minutes.

The as-yet-unnamed small car looks like a blend between a Honda e and Lancia Ypsilon, with a black ‘grille’ panel housing the new logo, flanked by three-piece headlight clusters and daytime running lights. The car gets a chunky stance, with cladding around the wheelarches and along the sills, plus plenty of black plastic on the front and rear bumpers. The light arrangement is mirrored at the back, with the two badges translating as ‘Nio’ and ‘Firefly’.

Firefly will apparently “raise small-car safety to new standards”, and has been designed to meet five-star Euro NCAP standards. The car uses a level of high-strength steel and aluminium alloys usually found in “higher-segment cars”.

The company says Firefly will “usher in the era of small, smart, high-end electric cars, with a key focus on design, safety, space, intelligence and energy efficiency for active urban lifestyle users.”

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We’ve not yet been given a look at the car’s cabin, though pictures show what looks like a decent boot – plus 60:40 split-fold rear seats – as well as a usable space under the bonnet for cables or soft bags. From that boot shot, we can see three seatbelts in the rear, as well as what looks like leather trim, or a sustainable vegan alternative.

One shot, taken from above, also reveals a full-length glass roof. We can also make out a reversing camera built into the car’s shark-fin antenna, plus extra lenses beneath the door mirrors – presumably for some of the car’s safety systems.

No battery or motor specs have been revealed as yet, which means range and performance figures also remain under wraps. Nio is yet to officially launch in the UK, though rumours are circulating regarding a possible arrival in 2025. That could reasonably coincide with the reveal of the Firefly brand in Europe, with more information likely in due course.

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