Nio Firefly will use extended-range hybrid powertrain and the product is expected to be launched in 2026, according to local media.
Update: Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong denied that Firefly will launch a hybrid model, saying the brand will continue to use the pure electric technology route.
Nio president says Firefly models will remain purely electric, denies hybrid powertrain report
Below is the original story by CnEVPost based on a Yicai report.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) is working on a hybrid powertrain and its third brand codenamed Firefly will use extended-range hybrid powertrain, with the product expected to be launched in 2026, local media Yicai reported today, citing multiple independent sources.
The electric vehicle (EV) maker's job posting on October 30 showed that it is looking for power NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) engineers, requiring candidates to have NVH-related development skills for air intake and exhaust systems, the report noted.
Previously, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li has repeatedly said that Nio's brands, including Onvo and Firefly, have no plans to launch hybrid products.
However, extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) models are showing stronger growth, the report said.
From January to September this year, retail sales of battery electric vehicle (BEV) models were 4.124 million units, up 17.7 percent year-on-year, while PHEV sales were 2.197 million units, up 69.0 percent year-on-year. And EVER sales were 811,000 units, up 109.8 percent year-on-year.
Compared to BEVs, hybrid products cost less and are able to perform better in terms of profitability, Yicai's report noted.
So far this year, a number of carmakers that previously produced only BEVs, including Avatr, Zeekr (NYSE: ZK), IM Motors and GAC Aion, have launched or announced that they will launch hybrid products, the report said.
A number of joint-venture carmakers are also getting into high-efficiency hybrid systems, with SAIC-GM, SAIC-Volkswagen, and FAW-Volkswagen already announcing that they will be investing more in PHEV products, the report noted.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is the most recognizable player in China's EREV space, delivering a record 152,831 vehicles in the third quarter, 2.5 times Nio's 61,855 deliveries in the same period.
After seeing Li Auto's huge success in the space, several local car brands have launched similar models, such as the Huawei-backed Aito.
EREVs are popular because they are battery-powered, while the engine is only used to recharge the battery when it is low, providing a BEV-like driving experience.
Catering to China's consumer preference for such vehicles, CATL, the world's largest maker of power batteries, last month launched the Freevoy battery for hybrids, which offers a range of more than 400 kilometers and supports 4C fast charging.
Models with Freevoy batteries will blur the distinction between hybrids and BEVs, and the fact that the former have engines significantly reduces range anxiety.
As of now, Nio is pretty much the only Chinese automaker still sticking to the BEV camp, and the company is hoping to rely on replenishment facilities such as battery swap stations to alleviate range anxiety.
Speaking with media including CnEVPost on September 21, the day after the launch of the Onvo sub-brand's first model, the L60, Li jokingly said that Nio would only consider launching a hybrid model if Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) does so.
However, as Yicai noted, PHEVs and EREVs have been growing significantly faster than BEVs, and even Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) has been reported to be launching a hybrid model.
Xpeng's first EREV model is under development and is expected to go into production in the second half of 2025, according to a September 13 report from local media outlet 36kr.
The model will be a large SUV (sport utility vehicle), internally project codenamed G01, and will be launched no later than the fourth quarter of next year, 36kr said, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Responding to a question from CnEVPost at a media roundtable in Guangzhou on August 26, a day before the official launch of the Xpeng Mona M03, the company's management said Xpeng was keeping an open mind about various power forms.
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