Firefly will launch an upgraded version of its currently sole model, the Firefly EV, on April 7

NIO sub-brand compact EV (Electric Vehicle) will launch an upgraded version of its currently sole model, the Firefly EV, on April 7, as the model approaches its one-year anniversary on the market. Firefly said in an official statement on Friday that it will hold an upgrade launch event next Tuesday, which will kick off at 7:00 pm Beijing time. 

The brand did not provide further details on the upgraded model, but hinted that owners of the current model will also receive "surprises." The new model is expected to be equipped with a larger capacity power battery, and its motor power is also anticipated to see a significant upgrade. 

The Firefly EV is the lowest-priced model under NIO, currently carrying an official starting price of 119,800 yuan ($17,420) including the battery pack in its home market of China. 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 on 21 December in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. 

Firefly's first model shares its name with the sub-brand to challenge the BMW Mini and Mercedes-Benz's Smart, with an eye on the global market. The model's official launch event took place on April 19 from 8:00-8:45 pm Beijing time, announcing that its BaaS battery rental purchase plan would be available on August 1.

Firefly began its first deliveries on April 29.Firefly is NIO's premium smart electric vehicle (EV) small car brand for the global urban audience. Inspired by the firefly, an insect that glows with its own light, Firefly is small, agile, energetic and dynamic, the brand said. The new brand's logo is a glowing firefly in flight, with the top half resembling the firefly's wings, representing freedom to fly, and the bottom half being the glow emitted by it, representing inner strength, according to the company.

As a five-seat compact BEV, Firefly has length, width and heights of 4,003 mm, 1,781 mm and 1,557 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,615 mm. Though NIO has repeatedly emphasized that the Firefly model will challenge the BMW Mini as well as Mercedes-Benz's Smart, it's close in size and shape to BYD's Dolphin, and Volkswagen's ID.3. 

Firefly is a compact car built for urban mobility, with the smallest turning radius in its class at 4.7 meters, Daniel Jin said at launch event. It has a frunk with a capacity of 92 L, which Jin said is the largest in its class. 

The battery is a 42.1 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery from Sunwoda, enabling a CLTC-rated range of 420 km. The battery powers a 105 kW (140 hp) electric motor. Unlike the front-wheel-drive Mini Cooper 5-door, the Firefly is rear-wheel drive, similar to the adorable Honda e. And like the Honda e, the Firefly also gets a near 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution.

Inside, the Firefly immediately elevates expectations for a compact EV. NIO’s design philosophy is evident in the soft materials, ambient lighting, and clever layout. Despite its small size, the interior feels like a lounge—calm, warm, and surprisingly spacious. 

The standout feature is the tatami-style bench seating, which allows the driver or occupant to shift across the front row easily. This effect depends on perfectly aligned seats, which may require some adjustment. Dashboard-mounted magnets and a deep under-seat storage cubby add functional charm, while the 6-inch digital instrument ring (housing driver monitoring cameras) is futuristic, if slightly cramped.

When the Firefly project was set up, NIO's team visited more than 40 cities in 17 countries, including China, and spent more than two months in Europe, Tina Wang, Firefly's head of product experience, said. NIO originally planned to launch Firefly in Europe first, but higher tariffs forced it to change its strategy.

William Li, NIO's founder, chairman and CEO, said that Firefly will focus on one car first, as Mini did in its early days. "As for how to build derivatives based on this car, that will have to be considered later when it makes money," Li said. The Mini brand sold more than 200,000 units a year globally, so it could do with some derivatives, Li said. "Our current goal is to get the base model right and build on that to make the car more interesting," he said.

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 and only found on models like the BMW 7 Series and the NIO ET9. The five-door hatchback achieved a 96 percent safety compliance rating for occupant protection in the latest 2025 Euro NCAP test -- the highest among all models evaluated. For child safety, the Firefly EV scored 87 percent. It also earned 82 percent for pedestrian protection and 86 percent for safety assist systems, demonstrating exceptionally high overall safety performance.