Firefly at One: From Disaster Start to Defiant Rise

Firefly celebrates its first anniversary, achieving significant sales growth and improved public perception, despite initial skepticism and challenges.

On December 27, firefly officially announced it would hold a “Shine Conference,” staging a large-scale celebration to mark the brand’s first anniversary.

It has been one year since firefly made its debut at NIO Day on December 21, 2024. Looking back, even NIO founder and CEO William Li and Vice President Jin Ge may not have anticipated how dramatic firefly’s first year would be.

Before its official debut, Li had already attempted to manage expectations, but public opinion still shifted sharply after the vehicle was unveiled.

A relatively high pre-sale price and an unconventional exterior design quickly became the focus of online debate.

Skepticism lingered through April 19, 2025, the official launch date, and did not fully dissipate even then.

However, according to third-party sources, firefly secured as many as 20,000 pre-orders on the night of its launch.

Whether driven by the lower-than-expected official starting price of RMB 119,800 ($16,772) or Jin Ge’s persistent public engagement, the “strong start” proved to be an early indicator of its subsequent sales trajectory.

Reflecting on firefly’s performance at the one-year mark, Jin Ge, Vice President of NIO and President of the firefly brand, summed it up succinctly: “From a disastrous start to rewriting destiny.”

The most compelling evidence supporting that statement lies in firefly’s post-launch sales performance.

From a macro perspective, monthly sales have continued to rise since launch, stabilizing at around 6,000 units per month, broadly in line with Li’s earlier expectation that “5,000 to 6,000 units a month would already be quite good.”

More importantly, higher-order indicators offer deeper insight. Which cities does firefly perform best in, and how does its geographic distribution compare with key competitors?

To answer these questions, it is first necessary to clarify what “selling well” actually means in firefly’s first year.

A New Favorite in Tier-One and Tier-Two Cities

Starting with baseline data, LandRoads statistics show that since deliveries began in April, firefly’s sales have risen steadily.

After the introduction of a BaaS battery subscription policy in summer—lowering the entry price to RMB 79,800 ($11,172)—sales in September, October, and November reached 5,896 units, 5,531 units, and 6,052 units, respectively.

Compared with mass-market urban EVs such as the Geely Xingyuan and BYD Seagull, firefly’s monthly volumes may appear modest.

However, when benchmarked against premium small EVs like the Volkswagen ID.3, smart #1, and the electric MINI Cooper, its advantage becomes evident.

LandRoads data show that ID.3 recorded sales of 2,478, 2,365, and 2,090 units over the same three months. smart #1 posted 2,082, 1,698, and 1,355 units, while the electric MINI Cooper sold 946, 724, and 1,014 units.

Taken together, firefly’s monthly sales over the past three months exceeded the combined total of these three rivals, making it the undisputed sales leader in the premium small EV segment.

A Premium Small EV That “Understands Its Users”

Firefly’s ability to gain share from established competitors reflects its precise targeting.

Based on LandRoads city-level sales data, firefly performs particularly strongly in tier-one cities—Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—and tier-two cities, which together account for 92.1% of its total sales.

By comparison, tier-one and tier-two cities account for 61.9% of ID.3 sales, 87.1% for smart #1, and 81.4% for the electric MINI Cooper.

A review of firefly’s top ten sales cities further confirms its concentration in major urban markets.

While competitors such as the ID.3, smart #1, and MINI Cooper benefit from earlier launches and broader penetration into lower-tier markets, their sales mix has increasingly shifted away from core premium urban users.

For premium small EVs, the primary target demographic remains relatively affluent consumers in tier-one and tier-two cities. Firefly’s city distribution demonstrates strong alignment with that core audience.

Broad National Reach

Beyond its core audience, firefly has also achieved notable geographic coverage nationwide.

According to LandRoads data, firefly has recorded sales in 243 cities nationwide. While this trails the ID.3 at 291 cities and the electric MINI Cooper at 262, it matches smart #1.

For a model that has been on sale for less than eight months, firefly’s pace of nationwide expansion is notable. Broad coverage combined with strong appeal to its target demographic helps explain its leading position in the premium small EV segment.

This raises a key question: how did firefly transform from an early public-relations crisis into a category leader?

A Dramatic Reversal in Public Perception

As Jin Ge noted in interviews, firefly’s first—and perhaps most serious—communication challenge stemmed from the polarized reaction to its exterior design.

“We didn’t expect the debate to become this intense,” Jin said in a November interview with ChinaEV Home.

From the outset, the design team aimed to create a globally appealing and highly recognizable design.

Subsequent remarks from Jin and Li suggest why the design struggled initially in China: it was developed entirely by a European team, with minimal involvement from Chinese designers.

In Western market research, the design reportedly faced little controversy.

One year on, however, sentiment has shifted. Interviews conducted by ChinaEV Home with consumers less immersed in industry discourse suggest opinions have softened, with many now describing the design as “growing on you” or “distinctive.”

While some resistance remains, it has become a minority view.

This shift was not simply the result of time. Over the past year, the firefly team, led by Jin Ge, actively worked to reshape the brand’s image.

A Defining Soundbite

Rather than avoiding controversy, Jin addressed it head-on in his first interview, delivering a line that became widely quoted: “firefly’s design needs three looks—the first look, a second look, and a third look.”

While this did not convert all critics, it provided a framing that resonated with neutral observers, encouraging appreciation for originality, individuality, and future classics.

More importantly, Jin’s consistent stance prevented negative narratives from dominating public discourse. In hindsight, firefly’s once-controversial design has become a differentiating asset.

Marketing Execution

firefly also placed strong emphasis on official marketing and community-driven co-creation activities, steadily expanding its core user base.

A key moment came on October 11 with the launch of the firefly Night Creature Special Edition, featuring new exterior styling, sportier tuning, and a “global limited run” of 666 units.

Even more attention-grabbing was the launch venue: a nightclub, breaking away from traditional auto show formats and generating significant social media traction.

Among co-creation initiatives, the “Unlimited Customization” campaign proved especially influential.

On platforms such as Xiaohongshu, firefly gained the label of a “modding-friendly” car, reinforcing its image as fashionable and expressive.

As one popular summary put it, the campaign shifted the debate from “Is it ugly?” to “You can do that with it?”

A Safety Breakthrough

Safety also played a decisive role in reshaping perception.

In July, NIO announced that firefly achieved top ratings across all categories in China Insurance Automotive Safety Index (C-IASI) crash tests—the first time a small car achieved such a result.

The outcome surprised many observers, given the inherent structural disadvantages of small vehicles. firefly’s performance positioned it alongside sedans and SUVs in terms of crash safety, significantly strengthening its safety credentials.

According to ChinaEV Home, some potential buyers now cite safety as a primary reason for choosing firefly.

Overall, firefly’s improved domestic reputation is not accidental, but the result of sustained effort. As domestic sales stabilize, its next and more formidable challenge has begun.

Going global is both firefly’s mission and its greatest test.

A Tough Road Overseas

On August 14, firefly began overseas deliveries, with Norway and the Netherlands as its first markets.

In October, right-hand-drive versions entered markets such as Singapore, paving the way for entry into the UK and other regions in 2026.

In November, more than 1,000 vehicles were shipped from Shanghai’s Waigaoqiao Port to Europe, marking the start of regularized overseas supply.

Operational adjustments followed quickly.

Flexible Market Strategy

As overseas volumes scale up, firefly has shifted from NIO’s direct-sales model to a national distributor model.

In southwestern European markets such as Portugal, firefly partnered with long-established distributor JAP Group, while in Greece and Denmark it works with Motodynamics Group.

Jin explained in April that the distributor model reflects limited brand awareness overseas, where sales potential is high but market development is slow.

Partnering with local distributors enables faster market entry while reducing capital risk.

As of December, firefly has launched sales or pre-orders in multiple European markets, including Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, and Oslo as a regional market, though absolute volumes remain modest.

In Norway, data from eu-ev.com show monthly sales remained in single digits until December, when deliveries rose to 45 units.

The Netherlands followed a similar pattern, with low absolute volumes but improving momentum in December.

As Jin predicted, firefly’s European sales curve is likely to remain relatively flat in the early stages.

Intensifying Competition

Competition represents a second major challenge.

Domestically, BYD’s Seagull and Dolphin have already entered Europe, while Leapmotor’s Lafa5 is expected to expand overseas in 2026, directly competing with firefly.

Local brands also pose pressure. Beyond the ID.3, Renault’s upcoming electric Twingo E-Tech may become a major point of comparison.

Renault announced in November that the next-generation Twingo E-Tech is under development, with a target price below EUR 20,000. By comparison, firefly starts at EUR 29,900 in the Netherlands.

ChinaEV Home previously visited Renault’s China headquarters in Shanghai and learned that the project leverages Renault’s ACDC R&D center to integrate Chinese suppliers into its global supply chain.

Renault is also helping Chinese suppliers establish overseas manufacturing to meet localization requirements.

“Batteries from CATL, electric drive systems from Shanghai Edrive,” Renault China told ChinaEV Home.

Access to cost-effective Chinese components underpins Renault’s pricing strategy, effectively narrowing the traditional cost advantage held by Chinese EV brands.

The strategy has sparked concern within France, with commentators warning that “the French auto industry is in danger.”

A Chinese automaker’s overseas business executive told ChinaEV Home that Renault’s approach could significantly impact Chinese EV exports, especially if other legacy automakers follow suit.

As firefly enters its true global battleground, managing these pressures will become a central challenge for Li and Jin.

Effort Makes the Difference

Looking back at firefly’s first year, particularly in the domestic market, it stands out as a rare success story among new brands.

Combined with ONVO’s sales surge driven by the L90 in the second half of the year, NIO Inc.’s three-brand strategy in 2025 has achieved notable success.

According to official data, NIO Inc. delivered 277,893 vehicles from January to November 2025, up 45.6% year on year.

ONVO and firefly together accounted for 47% of total deliveries, with firefly contributing more than 32,000 units within eight months of delivery.

The data show that firefly has succeeded as a third brand by offering differentiated positioning and addressing a distinct segment, with its difficult early trajectory enhancing the credibility of that success.

This reflects both NIO’s multi-brand strategy—clearly differentiated in positioning, pricing, and target users—and strong execution.

Throughout the year, Jin Ge emerged as the most visible figure associated with firefly after Li. He remained active across key marketing moments, from official livestreams to co-creation events.

Notably, amid intense early criticism, Jin demonstrated exceptional conviction. In a long-form post marking the anniversary, he reiterated his belief that firefly “may be ahead of its time, but is destined to become a classic.”

In that sense, firefly’s rise from a low starting point stands as both a validation of Jin’s persistence and a reminder that, in the automotive industry, outcomes are shaped by human effort above all.