NIO teases ET9 images and its FireFly brand logo ahead of launches at NIO Day 2024
We are just days away from Chinese EV automaker NIO’s annual NIO Day event, which has already promised some big reveals, including the long-teased ET9 and the first model under its new FireFly sub-brand. As an appetizer, NIO has shared the first un-camouflaged images of the ET9 and its official FireFly logo.
NIO remains a mainstay on Electrek‘s homepage because it always seems to be announcing something new and interesting. With its main marque well established and expanding globally, we’ve been following NIO’s rollout of two new sub-brands called Onvo and FireFly, the last twelve months especially.
While we get plenty of exciting news from the Chinese automaker throughout the annual calendar, no event is more likely to include landmark announcements than its annual NIO Day event, held every December. In the past, we’ve seen NIO unveil flagship sedans like the ET7, followed by the debut of the ET5 sedan a year later. NIO also shared plans to expand to new global markets by 2025.
The 2022 event included unveiling NIO’s ES8 and EC7 SUVs, pushing the automaker’s lineup to eight available EVs. For 2023, we learned NIO would unveil a new flagship model we speculated would be the ultra-luxe ET9.
That would be true. The ET9 debuted at a pre-sale price of RMB 800,000 ($109,810) – NIO’s most expensive model to date. It sits atop a 900V platform complete with an upgradeable wire-controlled chassis. It’s been nearly a year, however, and since then, we’ve only gotten camouflaged peeks at the NIO ET9 and its capabilities.
With a promise to officially launch the new ET9 at NIO Day later this week, the automaker has posted several images for the public as well as an official look at the logo that will be donned by its new line of affordable FireFly EVs.
NIO offers a clear look at ET9 before unveiling this week
Before we get all the juicy details about the ET9 and NIO’s plans for 2025 and beyond, the automaker offered its best look at its next flagship model yet. NIO posted several images (seen above) to its Weibo page with the following caption:
The high-tech executive flagship NIO ET9 will be officially launched on December 21st, NIO Day 2024. The original ‘flying body design’ creates a powerful aura of an epoch-making executive flagship with the flagship size. Elegant posture, presented with exquisite details. The debut is to lead innovation.
Following the upcoming launch, NIO expects ET9 deliveries to begin in China in Q1 of 2025. In addition to the sedan’s unique intelligent chassis system, the ET9 will be the first model equipped with NIO’s own 5 NM process-based “Shenji” autonomous driving chip, evolving from its current NT 2.0 platform that utilizes four NVIDIA Orin chips.
We will have to wait until this weekend to learn where ET9 pricing officially lands and how close that figure is to the presale price. In addition to the launch of the ET9, NIO has also promised to launch its new FireFly sub-brand and unveil its first model.
To date, we’ve only seen a camo’d image of the EV’s side profile, which appears to be a family-friendly compact, but we are certain to get a full look in a couple of days. Previously, NIO co-founder and president Qin Lihong has said that Firefly EV models will be priced between RMB 100,000 ($13,800) and RMB 200,000 ($27,500).
Furthermore, FireFly will join NIO’s Onvo brand on sale in China before expanding to Europe in 2025. During a recent interview with local media outlet 36kr, Firefly president Daniel Jinsaid the brand’s first model will be launched in China in the first half of 2025, followed by a launch in Europe likely a quarter later. We know the flagship model will share the same name as the FireFly brand itself, but not much else at this point.
Ahead of FireFly’s debut at NIO Day 2024, the automaker launched the sub-brand’s official app, which showcased its brand logo you can see below.:
NIO Day 2024 is scheduled for this Saturday, December 21, in Guangzhou, in the Guangdong province of China. Trust we will follow up with a full recap as we learn more.
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No matter how badly a fleet wants to electrify their operations and take advantage of reduced fuel costs and TCO, the fact remains that there are substantial up-front obstacles to commercial EV adoption … or are there? We’ve got fleet financing expert Guy O’Brien here to help walk us through it on today’s fiscally responsible episode of Quick Charge!
This conversation was motivated by the recent uncertainty surrounding EVs and EV infrastructure at the Federal level, and how that turmoil is leading some to believe they should wait to electrify. The truth? There’s never been a better time to make the switch!
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If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Vermont’s EV adoption has surged by an impressive 41% over the past year, with nearly 18,000 EVs now registered statewide.
According to data from Drive Electric Vermont and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 17,939 EVs were registered as of January 2025, increasing by 5,185 vehicles. Notably, over 12% of all new cars registered last year in Vermont had a plug. Additionally, used EVs are gaining popularity, accounting for about 15% of new EV registrations.
To put it in perspective, Vermont took six years to register its first 5,000 EVs – and the last 5,000 were added in just the previous year.
Rapid growth, expanding infrastructure
In just two years, Vermont has doubled its fleet of EVs, underscoring residents’ enthusiasm for electric driving. To support this surge, the state now boasts 459 public EV chargers, including 92 DC fast chargers.
The EV mix in Vermont is leaning increasingly toward BEVs, which represent 60% of the state’s EV fleet. The remaining 40% consists of PHEVs, offering flexible fuel options for drivers.
Top EV models in Vermont
Vermont’s favorite EVs in late 2024 included the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya, Toyota RAV4 Prime PHEV, Tesla Model Y, and the Ford F-150 Lightning. These vehicles have appealed to Vermont drivers looking for reliability, performance, and practical features that work well in Vermont’s climate.
Leading the US in reducing emissions
This strong adoption of EVs earned Vermont the top ranking from the Natural Resources Defense Council for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in transportation in 2023. “It’s only getting easier for Vermonters to drive electric,” noted Michele Boomhower, Vermont’s Department of Transportation director. She emphasized the growing variety of EV models, including electric trucks and SUVs with essential features like all-wheel drive, crucial for Vermont’s climate and terrain.
Local dealerships boost EV accessibility
Nucar Automall, an auto dealer in St. Albans, is a great example of local support driving this trend. With help from Efficiency Vermont’s EV dealer incentives – receiving $25,000 through the EV Readiness Incentive program – it recently installed 15 EV chargers for new buyers and existing drivers to use.
“Having these chargers on the lot makes it easier for customers to see just how simple charging an EV can be,” said Ryan Ortiz, general manager at Nucar Automall. Ortiz also pointed out the growing affordability of EVs, thanks to more models becoming available and an increase in pre-owned EVs coming off leases.
Read more: Vermont becomes the first US state to pass a law requiring Big Oil to pay for climate damage
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Elon Musk said Tesla’s self-driving will start contributing to the company’s profits… wait for it… “next year” with “millions of Tesla robotaxis in operation during the second half of the year.”
The claim has become a running joke, as he has made it for the last decade.
During Tesla’s conference call following the release of its Q1 2025 financial results, Musk updated shareholders about Tesla’s self-driving plans, which he again presented as critical to the company’s future.
He made a series of claims, mainly updating timelines about Tesla’s self-driving efforts.
Here are the main comments:
- The CEO reiterated that Tesla will launch its paid autonomous ride-sharing service in Austin in June.
- He did clarify that the fleet will consist of Model Y vehicles and not the new Cybercab.
- Musk also confirmed that Tesla is currently training a fleet specifically for Austin.
- As we previously reported, this internal ride-hailing fleet operating in a geo-fenced with teleoperation assist is a big change from Tesla’s approach.
- Musk said “10 to 20 vehicles” on day one.
- Musk said that Tesla’s self-driving will start contributing positively to the company financially in the middle of next year, and “There will be millions of Teslas operating autonomously in the second half of next year.”
- Musk has literally said something similar every year for the past decade and therefore, it’s hard to take him seriously.
- The CEO claimed that Tesla would get “a 90-something percentage market share” in the autonomous market.
- Musk again claimed that no one else is getting close to Tesla’s capacity, and he criticized Waymo for being too expensive.
- Musk is “confident” that the first Model Y will drive itself from the factory to a customer’s home later this year.
- The CEO said that he is confident that Tesla will deliver “unsupervised full self-driving” in consumer vehicles by the end of the year.
Despite Tesla missing earnings expectations by a wide margin, the company’s stock rose 4% in after-hours trading following Musk’s comments, indicating that shareholders still believe Musk’s self-driving predictions, despite his predictions having been incorrect for almost a decade.
Electrek’s Take
The first point I believe will happen. Tesla needs it to happen. It badly needs a win on the self-driving front.
However, as we previously explained, while Tesla will claim a win in June, it will be with a limited geo-fenced and teleoperation-assisted system that won’t scale to customer vehicles, which is what has been promised for years.
Tesla was even asked how it plans to launch this in Austin in June, when FSD in consumer vehicles currently requires frequent interventions from drivers, and Ashok, Tesla’s head of autonomous driving, admitted his team is currently focused on solving the intervention specifically related to driving in Austin.
With training on specific Austin routes and using teleoperations, Tesla can make that happen, but the road between that and unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles and “million of Tesla robotaxis” in the second of next year is a long one.
Basically, other than the first point, I believe Tesla will not achieve any of the other on anything close to the timelines announced by Musk today.
I’m willing to take bets on that.
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