One of the largest and fastest-growing car companies in China (and the world) is Nio, which has largely been focused on the more premium end of the electric car market. That’s now gonna change with Nio’s new Firefly subbrand, which was officially revealed last week with a cute ‘lil hatchback that will be sold in China and Europe. Details about the Firefly are pretty slim, but there’s just one thing I really want to know: Does it freak you out?
I ask because the Firefly has a very distinctive front end with a trio of round lights at each end of a slim grille, arranged in a triangular formation kind of like an iPhone camera. The rear end mirrors the design of the front too, with identical trios of round taillights. I know that people online love to talk about how they have trypophobia, and it seems like the Firefly’s design could be enough to trigger a reaction.
Personally, I think the Firefly looks cute as hell. The way the C-pillar wraps around the roof and creates the rounded rear window is pretty cool, and overall the Firefly’s design is nice and clean. We don’t know exactly how small it is, but Nio says it has a sizable frunk and rear cargo area, and it has a five-star Euro-NCAP rating. Like other Nio models the Firefly will have swappable battery packs, and the swapping stations will be one-third as expensive as the equivalent Nio locations.
In China pre-orders for the Firefly have already opened at a starting price just over $20,000, and it should be about the same amount when it goes on sale in Europe in the first half of 2025. Unlike the direct-to-consumer approach that Nio has, the Firefly will be sold through existing dealer networks that carry other brands.
