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China's answer to the Mini has been locked in for Australian showrooms as soon as this year, but it has set its sights much higher than budget BYDs and Geelys.
Electric Cars
The pint-sized Firefly electric car from Chinese manufacturer Nio is slated for Australian showrooms by the end of 2026, with retro-inspired looks and rated for up to 330km of driving range.
But it will not be a bargain-priced $30,000 rival to BYD, Geely and MG, and instead has set its sights on Mini and Volvo with a price likely to start from more than $40,000 before on-road costs.
The Firefly has been spotted testing on local roads in recent months, and it is now produced in right-hand drive for Asian and UK markets, but arrival timing has previously remained unclear.
Firefly global president Daniel Jin told Drive it is "highly likely" the first examples will arrive sometime in 2026, rather than in 2027.
"We planned right-hand drive from day one, and as a result, Australia, UK, New Zealand, Singapore [and] Thailand, are definitely our target markets," Jin said at the Beijing motor show.
"Starting from last year, we started to do the homologation in Australia, and right now, we are also discussing with some local dealers to talk about the opportunity to bring Firefly into Australia as a general distributor model. That's the plan.
"I don't have a solid timeline [on] when can you buy the Firefly in Australia, but I hope it can be as fast as possible."
While it is similar in size to a BYD Dolphin or upcoming Geely EX2, Jin said the Firefly brand is aiming higher.
"In China, we position the car as a premium small car, so we target the Mini in China. Mini, [Volkswagen] ID.3, Volvo EX30, and the Smart #1," the executive said.
"We don't want to compete with BYD, with the Geely, because in China, it's a completely different segment. They are below 100,000 RMB [AUD$20,000], we call this the value for money segment; we are premium segment.
"... We also want to position [ourselves] in Australia as a small premium brand, not competing directly with those value-for-money competitors. We're different."
In the Netherlands, the Firefly is priced from €29,990 to €32,500 (AUD$48,700 to $52,800) – compared to €29,950 for a top-of-the-range MG 4 Urban, a $34,990 drive-away car in Australia.
However, Jin suggested the Firefly may be priced closer to the Mini Cooper, which is priced from $41,990 plus on-road costs with petrol power, or $58,990 plus on-roads as an EV, albeit in a much higher specification and performance grade from base level.
An entry-level $53,990 electric Cooper hatch was offered 18 months ago, but dropped due to low demand.
"Here in China, we are like 50 per cent cheaper than Mini, but a much, much higher price than those value-for-money competitors," said Jin.
"Maybe in Australia, we are still a little bit cheaper than Mini, because Mini has [such a] long heritage and it's a BMW Group premium brand. And we are nobody from day one, so we need some time.
"We need to be humble, so we probably cannot price head-to-head with Mini. Lower, a little bit lower, but definitely higher than those value-for-money brands."
Aside from the Mini range, the Volvo EX30 is priced from $49,990 plus on-road costs in Australia, while the Smart #1 is $54,900 plus on-roads, excluding drive-away offers.
The Firefly has received approval for sale in Australia with a single 105kW/200Nm electric motor driving the rear wheels, and a 41.2kWh battery pack rated to deliver 320km to 330km of driving range in European WLTP testing.
An updated model has been rolled out in China with a more powerful 120kW motor, trimming the claimed zero to 100km/h acceleration time from 8.1 to 7.9 seconds.
DC fast charging at up to 100kW is claimed to deliver a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in 29 minutes in European examples.
It is understood the reference to a "general distributor" indicates an independent firm akin to Ateco, the distributor of Renault, Ram, Maserati and other brands locally, or Inchcape, which markets the likes of Subaru.
Jin said Firefly is in discussions with "several" distributors, but could not provide names.
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Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
