NIO’s affordable Firefly due for Q2 in Europe will get a 420 km range

In China, new car specs tend to go public before the official release, as all have to be approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which publishes the regulatory filing in advance. So it’s clear now that NIO’s Firefly subbrand will get a 42.1 kWh (swappable) battery pack and offer a CLTC range of 420 km.

Preorders for the Firefly started in China in December 2024 at 148,800 yuan (€19,545), with the official launch in April 2025. However, Firefly CEO Daniel previously said that this would be a global brand that would go live in Europe in Q2 2025, with Latin America and Southeast Asia following.

Brighter than Mini and more Mini than Smart

NIO is currently available as a premium brand in a few European countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany. Firefly will probably go there first. However, Nio’s other subbrand, Onvo, which will also hit European shores at the beginning of 2025, launched in the UK first, as import tariffs do not apply there. In the EU, these amount to an excess of 30,7% for NIO.

The Chinese carmaker wants to position the Firefly as an affordable alternative against the MINI from BMW and Smart, the Geely-Mercedes joint venture. NIO CEO William Li said the Firefly was “Smarter than Mini and more Mini than Smart.” Like the MINI, the Firefly will be sold alongside the leading brand in the same channels.

While Firefly is the brand’s name, its first model doesn’t carry a distinctive name. It was unwrapped as the Firefly EV and was created by Nio’s Design Vice President Kris Tomasson, formerly of BMW and Ford.

He gave the Firefly a distinctive tri-circular headlight and rear lamp design. The compact hatchback features a short hood and a wide C-pillar, which runs all over the width of the roof to mimic a protection bar. The door handles are hidden for a sleek, modern aesthetic.

The interior design isn’t officially shown yet. Still, spy shots have been circulating on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging counterpart to X, one of the biggest social media platforms with 252 million daily active users. These show a minimalistic NIO-like interior with a big center screen and a small dashboard screen.

The dimensions are pretty compact: 4,003 mm length/1,781 mm width, 1,557 mm height, and a wheelbase of 2,615 mm. It features a 92-liter front trunk, the largest in its class, offering layered storage and a built-in drainage function if you want to drop your wet sporting gear. With the backseats folded down, there is a flat cargo space of over 1,250 liters.

Swappable but not compatible

It weighs 1,492 kilograms, of which the power battery pack contributes 314 kilograms, offering a near 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution. That battery pack is a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery from Sunwoda, a first-time Nio supplier. Like all NIO cars, it will be swappable in a few minutes. However, as dimensions differ, it will need its own battery swap stations.

The Firefly has a rear-wheel-drive motor with a maximum power output of 105 kW. That engine promises a CLTC range of 420 km, delivering a 10 km range per kWh. The Chinese standard tends to be up to 25% more ‘friendly’ than the European WLTP standard, which would translate into a ‘European’ range of about 320 km.