New spy shots of the first model from Nio’s third brand, codenamed Firefly, have emerged. These are the best shots yet and also give us a quick glimpse of the interior. They come from an unlikely source: Spain. It is unclear where the pictures were taken, but Chinese media also use the shots from the Spanish website.
Although still quite heavily camouflaged, the pictures show that the first model is a compact SUV with an almost hatchback look, similar to a Zeekr X.
Previous spy shots have concentrated mainly on the back, with few showing the front. This time, we do get a clear picture of the front, and the most obvious are the round headlights. Chinese media speculate that these may still not be the final production version lights; however, they do not look like temporary units and so are likely to be at least indicative of the final version.
Nio’s third brand, currently known by the codename Firefly, will concentrate on smaller cars aimed at breaking into the European market. Previously the plan was that the car would launch simultaneously in Europe and China but recent reports indicate that it may initially launch in China before moving into Europe. At one time it was believed that the Firefly brand would be relatively cheap but the latest news indicates that it will be a boutique car, and so maintain a premium element complementing the Nio luxury brand, and the Onvo brand which is more geared towards families.
Like the Onvo brand, Firefly will not use Lidar to keep costs down. The spy shots show that the test car uses 18-inch wheels. The wheelbase has been maximized, while the overhangs, both front and rear, are kept to a minimum, maximizing internal space. The spy shots show a quite distinctive rear light setup, although curiously, they seem to be asymmetric.
It must have been a hot day when the spy shots were taken as both the front windows are fully down, and unlike many car windows today, it seems that the windows can go down most of the way. But thanks to the weather, we got our first glimpse of the Firefly’s interior. With the Onvo L60 it uses a large central infotainment screen and a head-up display, but we can see from the pictures of the Firefly that it reverts to a more traditional two-screen setup. Along with a large centrally mounted infotainment screen, there is a small LCD instrument screen. It is possible that, in addition, there is a head-up display, but given that the price point of Firefly is believed to start around 100,000 yuan (13,750 USD), this is probably unlikely.
At present no actual details are known about the powertrain. We can expect the car to be less powerful than either Onvo or Nio models, especially given the smaller size of the car. There will certainly be single-motor versions, but whether dual-motor versions will be offered as well, like with the Onvo or not, remains to be seen. We know that Firefly will have battery-swapping capability, but we also know that this capability is not compatible with Nio’s existing battery-swapping network.
The first model from the Firefly codenamed brand is expected to launch next year. European prices are expected to start at below 30,000 Euros (32,650 USD).