Nio will launch Firefly electrical hatchback in Europe within the first half of subsequent 12 months, Nio’s CEO William Li confirmed on Sunday. Not like the Onvo or Nio manufacturers, Firefly gross sales will depend on a third-party vendor’s community.
Firefly is the model identify and identify of the primary mannequin. It’s a compact electrical hatchback geared toward younger consumers. Firefly is Nio’s smallest and most cost-effective automotive, which comes with some challenges: It gained’t be capable to use Nio’s battery swap community of two,900 stations as a result of its battery pack is smaller than that of Nio and Onvo.
Nio additionally doesn’t construct swap stations for Firefly prematurely; they are going to set up it “per person’s wants.” The container swap stations are smaller, cheaper, and simpler to put in, in line with Firefly CEO Daniel Jin.
Nio didn’t share many particulars concerning the Firefly hatchback in the course of the launch convention, which was primarily targeted on the Nio ET9 launch. The battery capability, automotive dimensions, powertrain, and whether or not it’s RWD or FWD weren’t disclosed.
The automotive was designed in Munich by the European crew led by ex-BMW veteran Kris Tomasson. From the images and presentation we all know it has hidden door handles, 9 airbags, 92 liter frunk, and 1,250 liter trunk with rear seats down. The turning radius is 4.7 meters, and the automotive will likely be geared up with Nio’s autonomous parking know-how powered by a wise driving chip from Horizon Robotics.
Nio says Firefly is a world EV that may even launch in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and different markets. The corporate additionally additionally reiterated its purpose to enter 25 international locations by 2025.
The tri-circular headlights within the entrance and rear, organized like iPhone cameras, sparked a lot dialogue in China. When requested about it on the media occasion, Li defined, “By way of design orientation, you will need to take into account international customers’ preferences. Typically, one aspect might prefer it extra, and the opposite might prefer it much less. I believe that is utterly comprehensible.”
The Firefly model was launched on December 21. The primary mannequin will likely be launched in China in April 2025, and deliveries will comply with shortly. The pre-sale worth of Firefly’s first EV is 148,800 yuan (20,400 USD). Primarily based on Li’s H1 announcement, the European launch will occur in Might or June.
It is going to rival BYD Dolphin, Zeekr X, and the just lately launched Lynk & Co Z20 in China. In Europe, Firefly will compete with Volkswagen ID.3, BMW’s Mini, and Sensible #1 from the Mercedes-Benz & Geely three way partnership. Firefly didn’t announce any dealership names or international locations the place Firefly will enter first, however William Li mentioned that their companions “should be prepared”.
