NIO is nearing debut of its second sub-brand, Firefly, which is positioned as an entry-level battery swap enabled family car priced at over 100,000 CNY.
NIO branded vehicles are currently priced between 300,000 to 600,000 CNY, with the most affordable models being the NIO ET5 and ET5T at 298,000 CNY.
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The first sub-brand Onvo debuted just in September at a starting price of 206,900 CNY or as low as 149,900 CNY with BAAS financing.
NIO is now preparing for the launch of its most affordable brand on December 21 in Guangzhou to round out vehicles in the pricing range of 100,000 to 200,000 CNY.
President Qin Lihong announced that Firefly’s first model will be launched on NIO Day 2024 and all Firefly brand models would be sold in existing NIO showrooms and share the brand’s services.
The brands’ relationship between NIO and Firefly will be similar to that of BMW and MINI.
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Local reports suggest that the first Firefly vehicle will be delivered in the first half of 2025 and will come in a dual-motor version later after launch.
The first model's dimension will be comparable to the BYD Seagull, which measures 3,780 mm in length, 1,715 mm in width, and 1,540 mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,500 mm.
Source: BYD
A 2025 base version Seagull is priced at 69,800 CNY and comes standard with a 55 kW battery and a CLTC range of 305 km.
NIO CEO William Li already confirmed that the Firefly’s first model will be positioned as a higher-end Seagull, comparable to the likes of a Smart #1, which is priced between 154,900 to 284,900 CNY.
Source: Smart
The Smart #1 is equipped with a 49 or 66 kWh battery pack, capable of an estimated CLTC range of 400 to 535 km.
The Smart brand was first established in 1994 and is currently a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Geely.
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As of October 30, 2024, NIO has 2,609 battery swap stations across China, including 868 highway BSS.
Though Firefly will be able to battery swap, it will have its own dedicated battery swap station unlike the ones that NIO and Onvo vehicles are currently using.
Given the size of the car and its positioning, Firefly’s first vehicle is expected to feature a 50 to 60 kW battery pack capable of a 350 to 400 km pure electric range.
The car will be produced at NIO’s fourth vehicle plant in Chuzhou Economic Development Zone in Anhui Province.
Recent reports suggest that Firefly will also be launching an extended-range version in 2026 for overseas market in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
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Developing hybrid models was advised by NIO’s Abu Dhabi institutional investor CYVN Holdings to boost global sales in markets where the charging infrastructure is yet ready for mass adoption of pure electric vehicles.
CYVN holds 20.1% of total issued and outstanding shares and 13.4% of voting rights, making it the largest shareholder.
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In China, NIO and its sub-brands Onvo and Firefly will continue to offer swappable pure electric vehicles.
With the new EU import tariffs of 20.8% on all NIO models, on top of the 10% import tax, the brand’s competitiveness has been significantly weakened.
However, hybrid vehicles remain tax-free, which encourages the company to export extended-range vehicles to Europe.