- Firefly’s latest delivery milestone means the Nio sub-brand delivered 10,000 vehicles in less than two months.
- The Nio main brand also announced earlier today the delivery of its 110,000th third-generation ES8 large electric SUV.
(Nio’s sub-brand Firefly celebrated the milestone of delivering its 60,000th vehicle on May 23, 2026. Image credit: Firefly)
Nio Inc’s (NYSE: NIO) boutique compact EV brand, Firefly, reached a new milestone, welcoming the delivery of its 60,000th vehicle today.
This achievement comes less than two months after the brand reached the 50,000 delivery mark on March 29 this year. It also occurs about 13 months after the launch of Firefly’s currently only model, the Firefly EV.
The delivery milestone comes as the brand attempts to consolidate its market position amid fierce market competition. Firefly is positioned as a boutique small car catering to the needs of urban commuting consumers.
Just days before reaching the milestone, Firefly rolled out a major software update. The Aster 1.5.0 version system update aims to enhance vehicle performance and prepare for new infrastructure.
The over-the-air (OTA) upgrade boosts the peak motor power of the older Firefly EV from 105 kW to 120 kW (161 hp). This shortens the vehicle’s zero-to-100 km/h acceleration time to just 7.9 seconds.
This free upgrade aligns the performance of older models with the refreshed Firefly EV launched in April. The starting price for a full vehicle purchase of the refreshed model is set at 119,800 yuan ($17,623), identical to its predecessor.
If consumers opt for the BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental program, its starting price drops significantly to 79,800 yuan. The monthly battery rental fee is set at 399 yuan.
Another core highlight of this system update is the addition of a swap station parking assist feature. This function is used to help drivers automatically park their vehicles into Nio’s upcoming fifth-generation battery swap stations.
The company plans to build five to 10 fifth-generation pioneer swap stations between May and June, with larger-scale infrastructure deployment set to begin in July and August.
These new stations adopt a thoroughly restructured underlying architecture, a design change meant to be compatible with the shorter wheelbase of Firefly models.
Currently, Firefly vehicles do not yet support the use of Nio’s existing 3,857 battery swap stations. The roll-out of the fifth-generation stations will change this situation.
Firefly delivered 4,980 vehicles in April, contributing 16.96% of Nio Inc’s total deliveries of 29,356 units in April, data compiled by CnEVPost showed.
Firefly Monthly Deliveries 2025-2026
Month
2025
2026
January
2,807
February
2,657
March
6,119
April
231
4,980
May
3,680
June
3,932
July
2,366
August
4,346
September
5,775
October
5,912
November
6,088
December
7,084
Firefly monthly deliveries
2025
2026
Although April deliveries saw an 18.61% decline compared to March, the brand is actively adjusting its strategy, attempting to restore its growth momentum through the latest product refresh.
Firefly has become Nio’s pioneer brand for entering international markets, having already entered several European countries, as well as right-hand drive markets including Thailand and Singapore.
Aside from Firefly’s progress, the Nio main brand also announced earlier today the delivery of its 110,000th third-generation ES8 large electric SUV (sport utility vehicle). This high-gross-margin model helped the company maintain its profitability trend in the first quarter.
To further boost overall sales, Nio will officially launch its higher-priced new flagship SUV model, the ES9, on May 27.
With the launch of these new models and the initiation of deliveries for new models from sub-brand Onvo, Nio is concentrating resources to ensure its sales momentum.
The company previously guided its total deliveries for the second quarter to be between 110,000 and 115,000 vehicles. This means Nio expects its combined deliveries for May and June to be between 80,644 and 85,644 vehicles.
(Firefly president Daniel Jin spoke with the vehicle owner at the ceremony marking the delivery of the brand’s 60,000th vehicle. Image credit: Firefly)
In the first quarter, the average selling price for the Nio brand exceeded 390,000 yuan, which is 50,000 yuan higher than BMW’s.
($1 = 6.7981 yuan)
