The Nio Firefly, a cute as punch city-sized hatchback, has been approved for sale in Australia.

The compact four-door hatchback is the the latest in a long line of EV brands from China and while there has been no announcement on when it will land in local showrooms, it has received the all-important Australian Design Rules approvals to allow it to go on sale here in Australia.

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Australian government-issued documents reveal a single electric motor, with outputs of 105kW and 200Nm driving the rear wheels. In Europe, where the Firefly has already gone on sale, a 41.2kWh battery pack provides a WLTP-tested 330km of driving range. DC charging is capped at a maximum rate of 100kW, replenishing the battery from 10-80 per cent in a claimed 29 minutes.

Pitched as a premium offering in Europe, the Firefly is priced from €29,900 translating to around AU$50,000. That would make it extremely uncompetitive in a market where similar offerings such as the BYD Atto 1 starts from $23,990. It’s worth noting, however, that Chinese cars have been heavily taxed in Europe in a bid to ensure European car makers remain competitive.

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In its home market of China, the Nio Firefly is priced at around ¥120,000 or around AU$25,000.

Its compact dimensions – 4003mm long, 1781mm wide and 1557mm tall, sitting on a 2615mm wheelbase – place it firmly in the light, or city, car category where it would go up against the likes of the battery-electric BYD Atto 1 hatchback (from $23,990) and a smattering of petrol-hybrid cars including the MG3 (from $27,888 for the entry-level hybrid Excite), and Toyota Yaris (from $28,990).

Equipment levels for Chinese market cars include a 13.2-inch infotainment touchscreen, 6.0-inch digital instrument display, a panoramic glass roof, seat heating and a comprehensive suite of active safety systems that contributed to a five-star Euro NCAP safety score issued in 2025.

Nio began making the Firefly for right-hand drive markets late last year, with Singapore the first RHD market to receive the compact hatchback in January 2026 with the UK set to follow later this year.