Firefly, the entry-level sub-brand of Chinese EV maker Nio, has been spotted in right-hand drive configuration at the company’s UK engineering facilities.
Located outside Oxford and established by one of Nio’s earliest executives, Danilo Teobaldi, the UK team focuses on advanced concept and performance engineering.
A short video posted on LinkedIn on Wednesday by Nio owner and shareholder Marnix Billiau showed a Firefly hatchback with right-hand steering parked at Nio’s engineering center in Oxfordshire.
The right-hand drive version will be key to Nio’s entry into markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said in April that Singapore would be among the first destinations for the RHD vehicles. There, the company signed with the local distributor Wearnes Automotive.
“Right-hand drive is a sizeable market, and we will be ready to build cars for the market,” Qin said at a media briefing. “We will continue to go global with our Firefly and Onvo brands.”
The Shanghai-headquartered brand has recently secured regulatory approval to sell Firefly vehicles in Australia, following months of speculation fueled by trademark filings and a prototype Firefly hatchback spotted in Victoria in June.
The move came days after the co-founder said the company was preparing to expand to Australia and New Zealand “in the near future” and had held talks with “strong dealer partners.”
Nio is expected to enter the Hong Kong market in the fourth quarter of this year, adopting the same distributor model used in Macau, according to a June report by local outlet Lanjinger, citing an insider at Nio.
The sub-brand began deliveries in Europe in August, with initial launches in the Netherlands and Norway.
September registrations remained low, with one unit sold in the Netherlands and three in Norway, according to local data.
Further rollouts are planned in Belgium, Greece, Portugal and several other European markets over the coming months.
Firefly brand chief Daniel Ge said last week the marque is targeting 100,000 cumulative customers by September 2026.
Meeting that goal would require an additional 80,000 deliveries over the next 12 months, or an average of around 6,700 units per month.
Globally, Firefly reached a new sales record in September with 5,775 units delivered.
Deliveries in China began last April, with Shanghai representing about 10% of the total sales in the country.
