I’ve found myself in China a lot lately; each time, I learn something new. Despite the language barrier and the fact that a lot of critiques will always be filtered through the lens of an American, and through the layers of translation between Chinese and English, I still learn a lot.
For example, it’s not hard to notice that the average Chinese buyer tends to buy cars like an American, not like a European. They buy cars by the pound, where value and physical size, and interior space are prioritized.
You can see it on the streets. Go to any given Chinese city and it’ll be overrun with China-domestic market sedans that are as big as most midsized cars here, or big crossovers that are at least as big as a CR-V or RAV4, regardless of propulsion type. All of them are tuned for extreme comfort, for people who prefer to forget about the commute rather than find a twisty back road to go nuts on.
So in a sea of big body sedans and super tall crossovers, the Nio’s latest experiment, the Firefly, stands out. It’s small, it is sporty, and it’s not cheap—at least by China’s standards for domestic small cars. How does Nio expect its premium small hatchback, the Firefly, to do well at all?
Well, with what the automaker thinks is clever branding, and a cohesive product that aims to snap up the small but mighty market of drivers who want a premium small car experience from a brand that isn’t Mini or Fiat.
In case that doesn’t work in China, it’s the outcome Nio is betting on in Europe. And over there, Fiat and Mini need should be nervous.
Firefly (2025)
Gallery: Firefly (2025)
What is Nio's Firefly?
Chinese automaker Nio has a problem. Nio’s neatly-styled line of battery-swapping sedans, wagons and SUVs is good, but they just aren’t catching on all that much outside of China. Nio considers itself a BMW or Volvo contemporary, not a mainstreamer like Honda and Toyota, which isn’t an easy market to capture, especially in Europe where its home brands have more than a century of goodwill and loyalty from the public. Plus, that thing about big sedans and SUVs in China? Yeah, not really what Europeans want.
But they do want electric cars more and more. And Nio still wants a piece of that pie.
Thus, Nio started work on a car line that is made specifically for European markets: Firefly. This mononym brand was spearheaded by Kris Tomasson, who’s also the Vice President of Nio’s design, and was one of the main masterminds behind Nio’s plan to go past cars and battery swapping and become a full lifestyle brand.
Initially, the Firefly was supposed to launch in Europe first, but geopolitical tensions, European tariffs and a shaky outlook from Nio saw the brand re-evaluate its launch strategy.
“A little less than three years ago, I got the brief that we're going to design now or build a new, small electric vehicle, car for everyone,” Tomasson said during a discussion at the Shanghai Auto Show. “The brief was really to create the next mini or Fiat 500; something iconic, something memorable, [and] to take advantage of electrification. We were to build a different, new design identity, something that was going to be more lifestyle-based than our premium brands, [Nio and Onvo].”
While Fiat and Mini trade on a sort of hypermarketable, almost caricaturized ethos of their respective home countries while following in the footsteps of a historic model, Tomasson had to be just as iconic without the storied history. Thus, that’s where the weird yet distinctive triad circular lights come from; they’re an attempt to create an icon, something memorable about the car.
He says that the three circles represent the three pillars of the Firefly brand, “service, product, and community,” as it hopes to build on the community ties already laid down by Nio.
What’s good about the Firefly?
The Firefly might be one of the most well-intentioned, ideologically cohesive cars I’ve driven to date. From bow to stern, it’s clear the designers had a clear plan and stuck to it.
“A really clean, modern [design] is one of the big things I pushed for,” Tomasson said. “I wanted to design a UI and UX that felt like it was part of the design language of the car. Because for me, every UI and UX design, every screen you see on [other] cars, feels very disjointed. So for me, I wanted [the infotainment to be] an extension of what we're doing here [on the car’s exterior and interior design.] So you'll see similar shapes and similar colors.”
He definitely nailed that brief. Whether it’s the three-circle motif found on the headlights on taillights, the pill-shaped texturing on the car’s faux-grille and interior panels, or the super flat and high-contrast infotainment screen, the Firefly is incredibly cohesive and thoughtful.
The whole car is full of simplified, flat elements; it’s clear that the design team was all on the same page here. The ethos, with its sans-serif typeface and two-color flat graphics, feels more like athleisure rather than automotive; it's as if Lululemon made a car.
And that infotainment screen is more than just pretty. The Firefly test car I had access to, had already been translated to English, so I was able to experience the full depth of the system without the need for a translator. Frankly, this may be some of the best interfaces I’ve used.
The touchscreen-only interface may not be everyone’s cup of tea., But most drivers wouldn’t be in want of CarPlay if the underlying system was good enough for drivers not to reach for their phones. I think this one can do that, as its design is so coherent, matching the interior and exterior aesthetic of the car, while not being too complicated or too simple to operate.
It’s easy to read on the fly because of the main screen’s simple but big functions, strong sense of hierarchy, and easy-to-read icons. It’s just as fully-featured as any other car, but from what I experienced, none of the icons were confusing or overwhelming to gather at first glance.
The Firefly’s phone-like controls are some of the best I’ve used. Two words: gesture controls. Like an iPhone.
You control volume by placing two fingers on the screen and dragging up and down. The climate control fan speed is controlled in an equally intuitive manner by dragging two fingers left and right across the screen.
What a revelation. The automotive industry has installed phone-like screens in cars for a decade now, but when it comes to some of the most basic swipe or tap features common on our phones, the car sector has been missing in action. It’s almost as if so many of these phone-like screens are designed by people who have never actually used a phone and don’t understand what’s so good about them, or why we all migrated to touchscreen-only handheld devices.
Aside from the brilliant infotainment setup, there’s a lot more to like about the Firefly. It’s sharp to drive, and pleasant to use.
Driving the Firefly EV
Unlike other EVs of this size, the Firefly is a RWD small car. A 42.1 kWh (swappable) battery feeds a 141 horsepower motor placed at the back of the car. Performance is sprightly in city traffic, and ok elsewhere; 0-62 mph comes in about 8 seconds. Its performance specs are average, but the way the car handles is why the Firefly is so intriguing.
The Firefly’s chassis and ride engineers clearly were thinking of the Mini and Fiat 500 when they did the vehicle’s dynamic tuning. This car’s steering is surprisingly fast, and its suspension is curiously stiff for a market that generally prioritises ride comfort and super soft tuning.
I’m not convinced that its ride and handling are as sophisticated as a Mini (gas or electric), that car is just a little better at reining in some of the tougher bumps without bouncing.
Yet, that’s not discounting the Firefly. It’s still genuinely satisfying to drive. Unlike any Mini Cooper or Fiat 500, the Firefly is good at carrying people and is generally better equipped. Despite only being about 158 inches long, or about an inch shorter than a standard gas-powered 5-door Mini Cooper, the Firefly’s interior is so much more accommodating. The seats are upright, and there’s ample legroom for both rows of seats. The thing even has Dolby Atmos, cooled seats, and a power liftgate, things not typically found on cars this small. It even has a frunk with a drain that can accommodate an airline carry-on suitcase.
What's bad?
I’m not entirely convinced of the Firefly’s “premium” demeanor. It’s better than the Fiat 500e, about on par with any Geely-backed Smart, but I don’t think it’s quite on the same level of prestige and luxe as the Mini it aims to beat. I still liked it, though.
Then, there’s a big question about the car’s pricing and value proposition. In China, the car starts at around $16,500, with its battery (sans battery subscription, which isn’t up and running yet) not cheap for a car of this size in China. There are dozens of competitors in China that go further or cost less; the Firefly has a big question to ask in its own home market.
In Europe, there are other questions as well. European pricing is about double that, or about $33,000 (29,990 EUR) in the Netherlands, but still fairly competitive. However, things are rapidly changing in the EV segment. When Nio announced its intention to create the Firefly brand, there weren’t any strong competitors in this small car space. In 2025, there are now more than a few.
A Renault 5 E-Tech is about $28,500 (24,990 EUR), it’s not as quick and isn’t optioned as well as this car, and likely isn’t as spacious. I don’t have experience with this model, but initial reviews show that it’s generally a fantastic car. A Mini Aceman is about $39,000 (34,990 EUR) in base form; its battery is a hair smaller, but it has more power. The Firefly may not walk away with the European small car market like brand managers would have initially predicted.
Still, the Firefly’s ace-in-the-hole could be its battery-swapping ability. Like Nio and Onvo products, its 42.1 kWh battery should be able to be swapped away within seconds in lieu of DC fast charging. But, it’s not quite working yet; the battery shape and standard for the Firefly EV is different from Nio and Onvo vehicles. Nio is aiming to retrofit a number of stations (as well as build new ones) to handle the Firefly’s battery, but that will take time. The BaaS (Battery as a service) program hasn’t even been announced for the Firefly yet.
That generally lowers the cost of entry of a new EV (up to $10,000 in China), trading it for a lease on the battery. It’s not clear what that will look like in China or Europe. It could make the Firefly more accessible to more buyers, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
What does the Firefly mean for us?
As an American, it continues to be frustrating to drive dozens of EVs in China, only to come back home and realize that the chances of them ever reaching my driveway have only gotten slimmer and slimmer.
Realistically, the Firefly’s chances of coming to the U.S. are pretty small, and it’s not that it would be unsuitable. No, geopolitics continues to make this car a non-starter. U.S. tariffs would make this car incredibly uncompetitive, while the ban on Chinese software would remove one of the best parts of the car.
This is stupid. I have been searching for a small EV like this. I want something four-door, something fun to drive, something full-featured but not super expensive. I want something with enough range to go where I want to, but I don’t need the long charging times or weight associated with a big battery, especially if I could swap my troubles away. The Firefly was that car. I spent a whole day driving around Shanghai, and by the end and I didn’t want to give the keys back.
Maybe soon, a lot of people outside of China will feel the same way.
Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
