Firefly, the third marque under the Nio Group, recorded a slight uptick in sales last week as it accelerates production of its debut model and announces the battery rental scheme ahead of schedule.
The sub-brand registered 470 insurance units in China in the week of June 16–22, up 6.8% from 440 the previous week.
Weekly insurance registrations, however, remained below the 500-unit mark and well under the mid-May peak of 1,130 units.
Since deliveries began in late April, Firefly has registered around 5,200 units in total.
Firefly, a direct competitor to BMW’s Mini and Smart brands, on Tuesday launched its Battery as a Service (BaaS) purchase plan ahead of its original August 1 schedule. The new scheme cuts the upfront price of the Firefly EV by more than a third.
Under the BaaS programme, the entry-level model now starts at 79,800 yuan ($11,100), down by 40,000 yuan from the original price with the battery pack included.
A higher-spec variant has seen its starting price drop from 125,800 yuan to 85,800 yuan, a reduction of 31.8%. Buyers pay a monthly battery rental fee of 399 yuan, equivalent to nearly $56.
To attract early buyers in China, the brand led by Daniel Ge is offering a promotion for purchases made by the end of June, in which every second monthly battery fee will be waived for up to three years.
The first batch of Firefly vehicles is expected to arrive in Europe later this summer, with test drives in Norway, the Netherlands and other markets planned for the third quarter.
Firefly’s hatchback was designed primarily for European consumers, and recent right-hand-drive prototypes spotted in Victoria, Australia, indicate further export ambitions.
Parent company Nio, meanwhile, noted 3,250 registrations last week for its main premium brand, up 6.2% from the previous week’s 3,060 units.
Onvo, its family-oriented sub-brand, recorded 1,450 registrations, an increase of 17.9% from 1,230 a week earlier.
Taken together, Nio Group’s three brands logged 5,170 insurance registrations in China last week, up 9.3% from the prior week, marking a second consecutive week of sequential growth.
Last week, two photos of a right-hand-drive Firefly EV in Australia circulated on social media, suggesting that the brand is testing its debut model in the country.
The hatchback was spotted uncovered but with its logo concealed, bearing a license plate from Victoria, a state in southeastern Australia.
Nio confirmed this month it is expanding to Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgarian before the end of 2026.
Over the next 18 months, both brands will also arrive in Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria besides the already announced Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Test drives in the Netherlands and Norway are planned to start in the third quarter, while over a dozen other markets will join the list later in the year.
