萤火虫Firefly

Who owns Firefly? The ownership chain, NIO's stake and the 2024 deal

Facts checked Chinese holding 100%

Firefly is Chinese. It is NIO's small-car brand, launched in 2025 for city cars aimed at Europe as well as China, and is the cheapest of the group's three badges.

NIO Inc. launched Firefly as its third marque at NIO Day on 21 December 2024, with the first car due in April 2025. Firefly is a brand of NIO Inc., not a separate company, and NIO reports its deliveries within its own totals.

The short answer

Controlled by NIO
Stakenot published
Since21 December 2024
Kindbrand
OriginCN
Name in Chinese 萤火虫 Yínghuǒchóng “ying-HWUH-chong”
Top of the chainL'imad
Is it Chinese? Yes

The chain, step by step

  1. L'imad owns CYVN Holdings at 100% since January 2026.

    L'imad wholly owns CYVN Investments, the entity that holds the NIO shares, following the January 2026 reorganisation of Abu Dhabi's holdings.

  2. CYVN Holdings holds a stake in NIO at 20.1% since 27 December 2023.

    CYVN Investments RSC Ltd of Abu Dhabi built its holding through an investment of about US$1.1 billion completed in July 2023 and a US$2.2 billion share subscription that closed on 27 December 2023 under an agreement dated 18 December 2023. Its Schedule 13D/A filed on 28 February 2024 reports 418,833,157 NIO Class A ordinary shares as of 26 February 2024 — 21.7% of the Class A shares and about 20.1% of all ordinary shares outstanding — with sole voting power over all of them. CYVN appointed two directors to NIO's board on 7 February 2024.

  3. NIO controls Firefly since 21 December 2024.

    NIO Inc. launched Firefly as its third marque at NIO Day on 21 December 2024, with the first car due in April 2025. Firefly is a brand of NIO Inc., not a separate company, and NIO reports its deliveries within its own totals.

Every holding above this entity, with the stake and the date it began.
Holder Holds Kind Stake Since
L'imad CYVN Holdings owns 100% January 2026
CYVN Holdings NIO holds a stake in 20.1% 27 December 2023
NIO Firefly controls controls 21 December 2024

Firefly: questions people ask

What is Firefly?
Firefly is NIO Inc.'s small-car brand, announced on 21 December 2024 and on sale from April 2025. Its single model, also called Firefly, is a compact battery-electric hatchback.
Who owns Firefly?
NIO Inc. Firefly is the third of NIO's three marques, below NIO and Onvo, and is not a separate company.
What does Firefly mean in Chinese?
The Chinese name 萤火虫 (Yínghuǒchóng) is simply the word for a firefly, made of the characters for glow-worm, fire and insect. The English name is a direct translation, which is unusual among Chinese marques.
Where is Firefly sold?
In China and in ten overseas markets as of March 2026, with a stated target of close to forty across Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia. Singapore was its first right-hand-drive market in January 2026 and Thailand the second in March 2026.

Related

Sources for Firefly

  1. CnEVPost, Nio launches Firefly brand to take on Mini, Smart, 1st model to be launched in Apr 2025. Read . Read via the publisher's search listing, which carried the launch date and the RMB 148,800 price.
  2. CnEVPost, Nio Dec 2025 deliveries: Nio brand 31,897, Onvo 9,154, Firefly 7,084. Read .
  3. CnEVPost, Nio launches Firefly brand in Thailand, entering 2nd right-hand drive market. Read .
  4. Wikipedia, List of automobile manufacturers of China. Read . Firefly listed as a NIO brand.
  5. CnEVPost, Abu Dhabi merges CYVN's stake in Nio into new state-owned fund L'imad. Read .
  6. CYVN Investments RSC Ltd / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Schedule 13D/A (Amendment No. 3) — NIO Inc., filed by CYVN Investments RSC Ltd. Read .
  7. NIO Inc. / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, NIO Inc. Provides December, Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Delivery Update (Form 6-K, Exhibit 99.1). Read . NIO reports FIREFLY deliveries as one of its three brands.