The first Firefly model made its global debut and began pre-sales in China at RMB 148,800 yuan ($20,390), the same as the discounted electric Mini Cooper.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) has officially launched its Firefly brand to challenge the BMW Mini and Mercedes-Benz's Smart, with an eye on the global market.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker launched the Firefly brand, its third brand after the Nio main brand and the Onvo sub-brand, at its annual Nio Day 2024 event held today in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.
Firefly's first model, which shares its name with the sub-brand, made its world debut today and is positioned as a premium boutique small car.
The battery electric vehicle (BEV) model began pre-sales in China today at a price of RMB 148,800 yuan ($20,390) and will be launched in April 2025, four months from now.
The price is the same as the official discounted starting price of the all-electric Mini Cooper in China. The electric Mini Cooper, which has an official guide starting price of RMB 209,800, announced significant price discounts on October 18 to boost sales.
Firefly supports battery swap like the rest of Nio Inc's models, which means it may offer a BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental purchase program when it officially launches, allowing for a lower barrier to purchase.
William Li, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, said the Firefly is smaller than a Smart vehicle and smarter than a Mini.
Smart's current cheapest model in China is the Smart #1, which starts at RMB 154,900.
In naming its first model after the brand, Firefly takes a page from BMW's sub-brand Mini, as well as Geely and Mercedes-Benz's joint venture Smart.
The Firefly brand has targeted the global market from the very beginning, and Nio originally planned for the sub-brand's first model to be launched in Europe first, but had changed its strategy.
Daniel Jin, president of the Nio sub-brand, said in an interview with local media earlier this week that the Firefly model could be launched in Europe a quarter later than in China.
The Firefly program was initiated about two years ago, when the European Union's import tariff on BEVs from China was just 10 percent.
The additional EU tariffs, which went into effect on October 30, have clouded the brand's prospects in Europe, but Jin believes that even so, Firefly is still competitive in Europe.
Different carmakers face different rates of additional tariffs in the EU, ranging from 7.8 percent for Tesla China to 35.3 percent for SAIC Motor. Nio and some of its other local peers face extra tariffs of 20.7 percent, which are additional to the original 10 percent.
The designer of the first Firefly model is Kris Tomasson, senior vice president of design at Nio, calling the model's design philosophy Vivid, Thoughtful, and Solid.
Nio emphasized the safety of the Firefly model, saying that the car is built to the standards of the latest Chinese and European crash test requirements for 5-star ratings.
Firefly's body structure uses 83.4 percent high-strength steel and aluminum alloys, comparable to luxury models. The body-in-white has a torsional stiffness of 35,700 Nm/deg, the strongest in its class, according to Nio.
The Firefly model gets nine airbags as standard, a rarity in this category.
Nio did not release the dimensions of the Firefly model, but said it has the smallest turning radius in its class at 4.7 meters.
Chinese customers can pre-order the Firefly model starting today, and after paying a RMB 199 reservation deposit, they'll receive a RMB 2,000 discount on the purchase of the car.
For Nio and Onvo owners, if they order a Firefly car, they can receive bonus credit points worth RMB 3,000 on delivery.
Nio ES8 Founding Edition owners can get even more bonus points worth RMB 5,000 if they order the model.
($1 = RMB 7.2966)
Firefly's product launch in Europe may be 1 quarter later than in China, brand chief says
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