Source: Firefly

On June 24, Firefly announced the official launch of its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) car purchase plan for its first model, named after the brand’s very name, Firefly.

Source: Firefly

The starting price for the Firefly Carefree Edition is 119,800 RMB (c. $16,700), and the Glowing Edition starts at 125,800 RMB (c. $17,500). However, with the BaaS battery rental service, the vehicle price is immediately reduced by 40,000 RMB ($5,600), bringing the starting price for the Carefree Edition down to 79,800 RMB (c. $11,100) and the Glowing Edition to 85,800 RMB (c. $12,000). The monthly battery rental service fee is 399 RMB (c. $56).

Firefly also offers a limited-time offer to first-time buyers through the BaaS plan, with a free rental month for after every 4 months through the first three years of battery rental.

Source: Firefly

The Firefly was launched on April 19 and customer deliveries began on April 29. In other words, NIO’s third sub-brand has been delivering vehicles for nearly two months.

However, weekly deliveries suggest that the new compact city car is starting to lose some of that early momentum in sales. Given its more premium positioning in a segment that typically attracts value buyers, the BaaS plan immediately opens door to a larger market in China.

With BaaS, the starting price is immediately shaved by 33.4% and 31.8% for the Carefree and Glowing variants, respectively. That puts both variants’ upfront price to as low as some of the BYD Seagull editions.

For example, the two Seagull variants with the larger 38.88 kWh battery pack are priced at 79,800 RMB and 82,800 RMB. Meanwhile, the Firefly offers 42.1 kWh LFP batteries with a CLTC range of 420 km, slightly better than BYD Seagull’s 405 km range.

The Firefly excels in other departments, including superior spacing, measuring 4,003/1,781/1,557mm (length/width/height) with a wheelbase of 2,615mm. The Seagull measures 3,780/1,715/1,540mm (L/W/H) with a 2,500mm wheelbase.

The larger body dimension translates to superior cargo space as well, as the Firefly not only has more trunk space with seats folded (1,253L vs 930L), but it also features a frunk with 92L of storage capacity.

Moving down market (via BaaS) makes sense given that the total addressable market is several degree of magnitude larger for affordable compact cars, especially in China.

For example, the BYD Seagull is set to roll off from production line its millionth unit on June 30, just two years after launch.

In China alone, the Seagull sold 144,204 units year-to-date as of May 2025 and 453,593 units through all of 2024. The Seagull was also the third best-selling new energy vehicle last year, just behind the Model Y (480,309 units) and the BYD Qin PLUS (480,025 units).

While BaaS reduced the starting price of the Firefly, it is still important to note that buyers will still have to pay 399 RMB in rental fee, while a Seagull would be fully paid out with a lifetime battery warranty for 1st time buyers.