Nio, the Chinese EV brand popular for its battery swapping network, has officially entered Southeast Asia with the launch of its Firefly EV in Singapore. This marks a significant milestone for the brand as it officially enters the Right Hand Drive (RHD) market.
The Firefly made its debut during Singapore Motorshow 2026 and it is officially distributed by Wearnes Automotive.
Pre-orders for the compact EV hatchback are now open in Singapore and the first showroom is expected to open by the end of January 2026.
Nio Inc CEO William Li said the launch of Firefly in Singapore as their first RHD model marks an important milestone for both the brand and Nio’s global journey.
He said with Firefly as the pioneer, they will continue to expand their global presence steadily and efficiently with local partners with the aim to reach up to 40 countries and regions worldwide.
Nio to launch RHD EVs in Thailand, Australia and New Zealand
It is reported that Nio has commenced mass production of its RHD Firefly EV in November 2025 and the first batch has been shipped to Singapore.
In an interview with WSJ, Nio’s Head of Global Business, Chris Chen, said they plan to enter Thailand with the Firefly in March. They have also plans to expand into Australia and New Zealand, in the second half of this year.
Unfortunately, there’s no mention of Malaysia and it is worth highlighting that Nio may face some challenges if they intend to bring in Firefly as a fully imported (CBU) model.
As revealed by MITI recently, Malaysia is setting a floor price of RM250,000 for fully imported CBU EVs for new vehicle brands that have never been approved under any of the previous AP franchise companies.
Firefly key specs and features
Firefly is a sub-brand under Nio and its sole model is positioned as a premium 5-door compact hatchback. This EV competes with the likes of the Mini Aceman, Zeekr X, Volvo EX30 and Smart #1. It has a unique and funky design featuring tri-circle elements for its headlamps and rear lights which looks inspired by triple camera arrays on most smartphones.
In Singapore, it is priced at around SGD169,999 (about RM538,176) inclusive of guaranteed CAT A COE bid along with the extra SGD5,000 launch discount during Singapore Motorshow. As a reference, CAT A COE is currently going for SGD102,009 (about RM322,936)
Meanwhile in China, Nio is offering the Firefly starting from CNY 119,800 (about RM69,860) outright with the battery included. Alternatively, customers can get it cheaper starting from CNY 79,800 (about RM46,534) with its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) programme which require a monthly fee of CNY 399 (about RM233).
The Firefly is a RWD EV with a motor pushing 105kW (141hp) and 205Nm of torque. It has a 0-100km/h time of 8.1 seconds and has a top speed of 150km/h.
It uses MacPherson strut suspension at the front and multilink suspension for the rear. The RWD EV boasts 50-50 weight distribution and a turning radius of 4.7m.
Powering the EV is a 42.1kWh LFP battery pack that has a WLTP-rated range of 330km. When it comes to charging, it supports DC charging up to 100kW with 10-80% taking about 29 minutes. For AC charging it can be equipped with a three-phase 11kW onboard charger.
The Firefly is also designed for battery swapping and is compatible with Nio’s 5th generation swapping stations which are expected to roll out this year.
So instead of charging, you can get a battery swap in about 3 minutes. The battery swapping feature is said to make this EV future-proof as Nio plans to offer larger battery capacity in the future.
So far there are no details and pricing for the Firefly’s battery swapping service and its station for Singapore.
Despite being a compact EV, it gets a huge 92L frunk that can find a cabin size luggage and a 404L boot that’s expandable up to 1254L.
Dimension wise, it is 4003mm long, 1781mm wide and 1557mm tall, along with a wheelbase of 2615mm. In terms of safety, the Firefly has gotten a 5-star rating from EURO NCAP.
