Chinese EV startup giant, Nio, which specialises in EVs that can be battery-swapped and has been rapidly expanding globally over the past few years, received approval in August for its first electric car in Australia, the Nio Firefly.

The company’s CEO William Li has now shared that the first right-hand-drive production version of the Firefly has been produced, and is headed to Singapore, edging closer to Australia.

“A quick snapshot of the right-hand-drive firefly, our very first RHD car. This marks a new milestone in NIO’s global rollout, and the first RHD batch will ship to Singapore,” Li said on X.

This is a major milestone for Nio, which now operates three brands globally, covering Nio, Onvo and Firefly. It also hints that subsequent right-hand-drive production could be heading to other markets in 2026.

In a recent post, Nio shared that it is also expecting to launch in Thailand and the UK next year, making further ground

As mentioned above, the Firefly has already been approved for sale in Australia, with approval paperwork showing that the hatchback model will have tare weights of 1,467 kg and 1,492 kg and will be driven by a rear-mounted 105 kW motor.

This configuration will help the just over 4 metre long hatchback be quite an engaging car to drive, as most hatchbacks come in front-wheel-drive configuration.

According to the approvals documentation, the Firefly is expected to arrive with 18-inch wheels.

In December 2024, Nio revealed its third brand, called the Firefly, to rival Mini, Smart, Renault and other electric hatchbacks, at the company’s annual Nio Day in Guangzhou, China.

The Firefly brand was put together to accelerate the company’s expansion into European and international markets, and within 12 months of the brand’s official launch, it appears to be on track.

Then, in June this year, a lavender colour Nio Firefly was spotted with Victorian number plates in Melbourne. That right-hand-drive example with the tri-daytime running lights was relatively easy to spot, given its unique looks.

That vehicle was likely an evaluation testing car, which is used for local ride and handling, as well as advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration.

 In China, the Firefly starts at the equivalent of $A25,700 and goes up to $A30,000. The Australian pricing is likely to be closer to $A40,000 when it lands in 2026.

For that price, drivers will get a fairly well-equipped electric hatchback, loaded with tech and more space than hatchback rivals, including a surprisingly large frunk.

The motor on the Firefly has been designed in-house by Nio, and as mentioned earlier, it delivers 105 kW, helping the hatchback to reach a top speed of 150 km/h.

It is fed by a 42.1 kWh Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) battery pack, offering a CLTC range of 420 km. That’s expected to be a lot closer to 340 km on the WLTP cycle.

Earlier this year, I previewed and took a test drive of the model in China in April. During which the Nio Firefly was quite zippy and fun to drive on a short driving test track in the outskirts of Shanghai.

On the inside, it has a fun user interface (UI) with the aim of appealing to drivers who might not have previously considered an EV.

It’s of course also thanks to the unique design of the car with the tri-daytime running lights, which is unlike any electric hatchback we have seen on the market.

The early test drive gave us an early impression of what’s to come from the brand as Nio takes its EVs to global markets at more affordable prices than the existing, more luxury models it sells in China and parts of Europe today.

We look forward to seeing the Nio Firefly on Australian roads in 202,6, and with the latest news of production cars shortly heading to Singapore, it could be here in the coming months.

Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.