New Firefly EV set to take on Renault 5 with 205-mile range
The new Firefly EV is a city car from Chinese car giant Nio, and it’ll take on the Mini Cooper and Renault 5...
On sale Late 2025 Price from £25,000 (est)
‘You would not believe your eyes’ is the opening line to the 2009 hit ‘Fireflies’ by Owl City, and it could well have been the design philosophy behind the funky-looking new Firefly EV, which is due to go on sale later this year.
Rather confusingly, Firefly is the name of both the brand and its first model, the former being a subsidiary of Chinese car company Nio.
The Firefly stands out thanks to its cutesy, retro styling – it almost harks back to the now-defunct Honda e, but if the Firefly wants to be successful, it has to do a better job than that car in almost every area.
At the heart of the Firefly is a 42.1kWh (total capacity) battery, and it benefits from battery-swapping capabilities – which means that you’re able to switch your battery out for a new one once it’s run out of juice at Nio’s dedicated swapping stations, due to roll out in 2026. However, it’s unclear if this will make it onto UK models, meaning they may have to charge up at charging stations like a conventional electric car.
Indeed, with maximum charging speeds of up to 100kW, the Firefly should complete a 10-80% top-up in 29 minutes. That’s faster than rivals like the R5 and BYD Dolphin Surf – similar speeds are generally offered by pricier small car competitors.
The Firefly has an official range of 205 miles, which would make it more efficient than entry-level versions of the Renault 5 and Hyundai Inster. Both of those models have longer-range variants, though.
A single rear-mounted motor will pump out 141bhp, allowing the Firefly to complete a 0-62mph sprint in 8.1sec. The 148bhp version of the Renault 5 is slightly punchier, but the Firefly is faster than all versions of the Inster.
Inside, the Firefly gets a fun-size 6.0in digital instrument screen behind the steering wheel, alongside a larger 13.2in central infotainment touchscreen. Physical buttons are largely absent, although the touchscreen has been configured in a way that it places the most important features closest to the driver. On left-hand-drive models, these features are on the left of the screen – whether they’ll move to the right for right-hand-drive markets like the UK has yet to be seen.
An integrated AI voice assistant will allow you to go fully hands-free for more than 80% of the vehicle’s functions, including phone calls, changing the music or seat functions. You also get heated seats, a heated steering wheel and a 14-speaker sound system with Dolby Atmos surround sound as standard.
Despite its dinky proportions, the Firefly can seat up to five, and it gets 27 interior storage spaces, including compartments under the front passenger seat and rear bench.
More impressively, it gets a 92-litre storage space under the bonnet (frunk) and 404 litres of boot space. For reference, the MG4 EV gets 363 litres, and we managed to squeeze five carry-on suitcases in there.
The Firefly is set to launch in European markets this summer, and it’s possible that it will arrive in the UK as early as October.
Prices for the Firefly are yet to be revealed; in China, it starts at the equivalent of £13,000, but it’s likely to start at closer to £25,000 here in the UK. That would make it slightly more expensive than the Renault 5 and place it more in the region of the Mini Cooper Electric.
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