After Singapore, Thailand is now the second right-hand drive and Southeast Asian market to formally welcome the Firefly, a compact electric vehicle (EV) from Nio’s new sub-brand that bears the same name.
Officially making its launch debut at this year’s Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS), the Firefly EV comes fully imported (CBU) from China and is being sold through local distributor Thonburi Blue Sky (a subsidiary of Thonburi Group). The asking price for the sole variant being offered is 799,000 baht (about RM97k), with each purchase accompanied by a four-year/100,000-km vehicle warranty and eight-year/160,000-km battery warranty.
In terms of specifications, the Firefly features a rear electric motor rated at 143 PS (141 hp or 105 kW) and 200 Nm of torque. This is powered by a 42.1-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that is good for a range of up to 400 km following the NEDC standard, or 330 km on the WLTP cycle. The EV will get from 0-50 km/h in 3.1 seconds, from 0-100 km/h in 8.1 seconds and maxes out at 150 km/h.
As for charging, it’ll take 30 minutes to get the battery from a 10-80% state of charge with a peak DC input of 100 kW. There’s also support for AC charging at a max of seven kW, while a standard vehicle-to-load (V2L) system provides up to 3.68 kW to external devices. Battery swapping is also supported, although this hasn’t ben made available in Thailand.
The Firefly is built on Nio’s FT1 EV platform and measures 4,003 mm long, 1,781 mm wide and 1,557 mm tall. Its wheelbase of 2,615 mm is slightly more than a MINI Aceman (2,606 mm) and substantially more than the current MINI Cooper (2,526 mm). For storage, the frunk has a capacity of 92 litres, while the rear boot can accommodate between 335 and 1,253 litres – the latter with the rear seats folded down.
Standard equipment include 18-inch alloy wheels, tri-beam LED headlamps with circular daytime running lights and automatic high beam, a panoramic glass roof, interior ambient lighting (256 colours), digital rear-view mirror, powered front seats, automatic air-conditioning with PM2.5 dust filter, a six-inch digital instrument cluster, a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen running on Aster OS, a 14-speaker sound system (640 watts), seven airbags and a wireless charging pad.
In the safety and driver assistance department, the Firefly draws on its Qualcomm 8155 chip and sensor suite to deliver Level 2 ADAS functions. These include front and rear autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane keep assist (with automatic braking assist), lane centring assist, active lane change assist, blind spot monitoring (with brake assist) and automated parking assist.
Should we expect the Firefly to come our way since it has already been launched in neighbouring countries? That will depend on whether Nio plans to assemble cars here (unlikely), as CBU fully-imported EVs are now not only subjected to import and excise duties, but also a RM250,000 floor price that would make the Firefly an financially unviable offering.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
that steering wheel feels like you hold two watermelons with both hands while steering the steering wheel!