EVwire brief: CATL's Qilin Battery is powering the new 60-kWh battery pack for Nio's Firefly, with the larger pack giving the small EV a CLTC range of 560 km (348 miles).
CATL confirmed the supply deal on Weibo on Saturday, a day after Firefly officially launched the 60-kWh option. The new pack uses nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) cells and adds 140 km (87 miles) to the Firefly.
The 60-kWh pack delivers about 33% more mileage over Firefly's original 42-kWh pack, which uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells from Sunwoda and is rated at 420 km (261 miles). Firefly says battery dimensions and curb weight are unchanged.
CATL did not say which generation of Qilin the Firefly uses or what charging rate it supports. CATL introduced the Qilin line in 2022 and unveiled its third generation in April.
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New Firefly buyers can get the 60-kWh version from 136,800 yuan ($20,360) with the battery included, or from 79,800 yuan ($11,880) under Nio's battery-as-a-service (BaaS) plan, with a monthly battery rental of 599 yuan ($89).
Existing owners can upgrade too, since both packs share standardized modules, casing dimensions, mounting points and locking mechanisms. The swap happens at a battery swap station, without replacing the car:
Owners who bought the battery outright: a one-time permanent upgrade for 17,000 yuan ($2,530), available once at least a year has passed since the purchase invoice date
BaaS users: a 3,000 yuan ($447) permanent upgrade fee, with monthly rent rising to 599 yuan ($89) from 399 yuan ($59)
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Context:
The Qilin deal extends Nio's partnership with CATL, which the two companies deepened with a five-year agreement in January covering joint development of long-life batteries and battery swap compatibility. Firefly itself only gained access to Nio's fifth-generation swap stations on August 7, as its shorter body and wheelbase kept it out of the fourth-generation stations.
Firefly launched its first model in China in April 2025, going up against small EVs from brands like Mini and Smart. The brand passed 90,000 cumulative deliveries on October 16 and delivered a record 7,327 vehicles in September, bringing its total for the first nine months of 2026 to 48,122. This means that the longer-range pack arrives as Firefly's sales are already climbing.
Source: CnEVPost
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