In the old world of the car industry, we saw mainstream brands giving rise to luxury ones – Toyota and Lexus, Nissan and Infiniti, Genesis from Hyundai, and to some extent Audi, which was cultivated under Volkswagen.
In the new world, the rules are different, and this is a great example of the shift: The Chinese car manufacturer Nio, which is trying to position itself among the elite brands as a luxury marque, is now launching a brand aimed lower, at the more mainstream market segment.Meet Firefly. Officially, it sets its sights on sub-brands of other luxury manufacturers – Mini in the case of BMW and Smart in the case of Mercedes.
The exterior design works hard to be different without falling into oddity. The most prominent front elements are the three headlights and the upright grille; in profile, it’s the thick rear pillar that rises toward the roof; and at the back, round light units make a return appearance. These are joined by a color palette including purple, mint green, and beige, alongside more traditional white and gray.
In terms of exterior dimensions, it’s a supermini: 4 meters from end to end, 1.78 meters wide, 1.56 meters tall, and with a wheelbase of 261 cm. The trunk offers 335 liters, with an additional 95-liter front trunk. That puts it roughly in the same size category as the Mini 5-door, and definitely smaller than the Smart #3 or the BYD Dolphin.
Inside the cabin, there’s a 13.2-inch screen and a 6-inch instrument cluster. Depending on the trim level, you’ll also find heated and ventilated seats, electric adjustment, and differences in cabin trim materials.
Safety systems include lane departure correction, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and even lane change capability using the cruise system. It received a 5-star rating in China’s crash test.
The Firefly has rear-wheel drive, powered by a single 141 hp motor that delivers 0–100 km/h in 8.2 seconds and a top speed of 150 km/h. Power comes from a 42.1 kWh battery, which – like other Nio cars – supports battery swapping at dedicated stations within minutes. However, these will not be Nio’s own stations, as this is a different platform. The official range is about 344 km (converted from 420 km under the Chinese standard).
Delek Motors, Nio’s importer to Israel, confirmed that the Firefly is indeed on its way, with sales expected to begin in the second half of 2025. As in overseas markets, customers here will be able to use battery swapping stations, the first of which is expected to open in the central region.
The local pricing of the Firefly has not yet been finalized, but the importer intends to position it as a competitor to the Mini – which it also imports – and the Smart. However, in China, the Firefly is significantly cheaper than the Smart #1 and the electric Mini (both made in China) and is closer in price to the well-equipped versions of the BYD Dolphin, and slightly cheaper than the MG4. So, roughly speaking, its price in Israel could land in the NIS 150,000 range or lower. The issue is that at that price, it might end up too close to the Dongfeng models on the way (which are also imported by Delek Motors).