Chinese EV brand Nio launches budget Firefly model aimed at new Renault 5

Firefly is the third Nio brand after Nio and Onvo, but there’s still no sign of any of them coming to the UK

Nio’s budget Firefly model is on sale in China for around £16,000 (Nio)

Chinese EV maker Nio has launched its budget brand Firefly, set to take on cut-price electric cars like the new Renault 5, Hyundai Inster, Citroen e-C3 and BYD Dolphin.

Although Nio has confirmed that Firefly will come to Europe – to be sold alongside Nio models already on sale on the continent – there are currently no plans for any Nio models to be sold in the UK.

The Firefly has features cute, curvy styling with triple LED lights at the front and back (Nio)

The first Firefly model, which takes the brand name rather than having a separate model name, was designed in Nio’s design studio in Munich and has gone on sale in China priced at the equivalent of £16,140.

The compact, curvy, five-door Firefly looks similar to the short-lived Honda-e proportionally, and gets a similarly cute look with triple circular headlights and tail lights, a glass roof and extra storage space in a frunk under the bonnet.

The Firefly name comes from fireflies, unsurprisingly enough. According to Nio, the Firefly is “small, agile and buzzing with energy, symbolizing freedom to move and being different. The brand logo represents a flying and glowing firefly illustrating the brand’s spirit: freedom to glow. The brand DNA of firefly is vivid to create positive emotions and lasting impressions, thoughtful with logic and purpose, and solid to convey trust and confidence.”

The Firefly has been engineered to get a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating (Nio)

No further technical information has been released on the Firefly, other than it has been engineered to five-star Euro NCAP crash test standards. It’s unlikely that it will get the expensive battery-swap technology of more expensive Nio and Onvo models.

Firefly launched at this year’s annual Nio day held in Guangzhou, China, with the theme “Together & Further”. Along with the new Firefly model, Nio unveiled its flagship ET9 model.

As well as the innovative battery-swap system and advanced chassis and electrical technologies, the ET9 features a two square meter light carpet that welcomes owners as they enter the car. The executive seating system has nearly two square meters of full-area heating, and a 16-point hot stone massage function.

Nio is part-owned by CYVN, an investment arm of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, which also owns British luxury EV startup ForSeven – headed by former JLR executive Nick Collins – and has recently bought British supercar maker McLaren Automotive. Nio also has an engineering base in the UK.

However, despite reports linking Nio’s Onvo brand with coming to the UK – thanks in part to the lack of hefty tariffs on Chinese vehicle imports into the UK compared with Europe – these reports have been dismissed and there are currently no plans to bring Nio, Onvo or Firefly models to the UK.