Firefly, the entry-level brand of Nio Inc., launched a 60 kWh battery for its only model in China on Friday, increasing its range by a third and pricing the new version 17,000 yuan ($2,500) above the existing one.
The larger pack lifts the hatchback’s range to 560 km (348 miles) on China’s CLTC test cycle, from 420 km with the current 42 kWh battery, the brand said in a post on its official Weibo account.
The 60 kWh version costs from 136,800 yuan ($20,500) when bought outright, against 119,800 yuan ($18,000) for the 42 kWh version.
Under Nio’s battery-as-a-service (BaaS) rental plan, both versions start at 79,800 yuan ($12,000), but the monthly rental fee rises to 599 yuan ($90) from 399 yuan ($60), a difference of 200 yuan ($30).
The 42 kWh version stays on sale. Firefly described the 60 kWh pack as suited to longer trips and the 42 kWh pack to “easy commuting” in the city.
The 42 kWh version is sold in three trims. The base Free Edition costs 119,800 yuan, or 79,800 yuan under BaaS. The Glow Edition, which adds illuminated front styling and different wheels, costs 125,800 yuan, or 85,800 yuan.
The design-led Halo Edition, launched in July, costs 133,300 yuan, or 93,300 yuan.
Firefly’s announcement gives only the 136,800-yuan starting price for the 60 kWh version.
Introductory Offers
Buyers who lock an order for the 60 kWh version between October 23 and November 30 qualify for launch offers, according to the terms published with the announcement.
BaaS customers can skip one monthly rental payment for every four they make during the first 48 months, up to a maximum of nine waived payments.
That is worth up to 5,391 yuan ($800) at the new rate. The waiver applies only to first owners and lapses if the battery capacity is changed or the car is sold.
Outright buyers receive 20,000 points, Nio’s in-app currency.
The rental waiver is a longer version of the one Firefly offered when it introduced BaaS on June 24, 2025, two months after the car’s launch. That offer waived one payment for every four during the first three years.
Existing Owners Can Upgrade
Firefly said owners of the 42 kWh version can upgrade, without publishing the terms in its posts. It referred customers to a question-and-answer section in its app.
Owners will pay 17,000 yuan to switch to a permanently owned 60 kWh pack, or 3,000 yuan ($450) plus the 599-yuan monthly fee under BaaS, according to a Weibo blogger who said he had discussed the launch with brand President Daniel Jin.
The upgrade is possible because the two packs share the same dimensions and mounting points, as Jin said in September. Firefly said on Friday that its swap stations support exchanges between 42 kWh and 60 kWh packs.
Batteries are being released in phases to balance new-car deliveries and upgrades, Jin said in the exchange published by the blogger. Firefly will initially get about four slots at Nio’s fifth-generation swap stations, which hold 23 to 24 batteries each.
A Change of Chemistry
The new pack uses ternary lithium cells with an energy density of 187.18 Wh/kg, replacing the lithium iron phosphate cells in the current pack, and achieves a 73.4% volume utilization rate, Firefly said.
Jin said on September 5 that the cells come from CATL. The current pack uses cells from Sunwoda, according to the car’s regulatory filing.
The brand said the pack’s size and the car’s curb weight are unchanged. Jin put the weight difference between the two packs at about 10 kg in the exchange with the blogger, and said a lithium iron phosphate pack of the same capacity would have been about 130 kg heavier.
Both versions accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds and consume 10.9 kWh per 100 km, according to Firefly.
Capacity rises by about 43% but range by 33%. Jin said the usable share of the battery is about 94% on the 60 kWh pack against about 98% on the 42 kWh unit, with the rest held back to protect the cells.
Because ternary cells are more prone to thermal runaway than iron phosphate, Firefly added nano aerogel insulation pads on the faces of the cells, ceramic-fiber aerogel pads on the sides and segmented mica plates under the top cover.
The pads have a thermal conductivity of no more than 0.03 W/(m·K) at 25°C, the brand said. Both packs passed 14 safety tests that exceed China’s national standard, it added.
Deliveries Near 100,000
The launch comes a week after Firefly held a ceremony for its 90,000th delivery in Zhengzhou, less than 18 months after its first handovers in April 2025.
The brand delivered a record 7,327 vehicles in September, and its monthly totals add up to 87,536 by the end of that month. Nio has never published a cumulative figure for the brand.
Jin has set a target of 100,000 cumulative deliveries by the end of 2026.
The car plant can build 10,000 to 11,000 vehicles a month at full speed, and batteries are the main constraint, which should be resolved by the end of October, Jin said in the exchange published by the blogger.
He also said 60 kWh is not the physical limit for the platform, but that Firefly has no plans for other capacities.
Firefly has not said whether the 60 kWh pack will be offered outside China, where the car is sold in markets including the Netherlands, Norway, Thailand, among others.
Nio has said Firefly will remain a single-model brand in 2027, relying on special editions and software updates such as Aster 2.1.0.
The launch follows Nio’s shares hitting their lowest level since April 2025 this week.
