--- title: "Nio's Firefly, how to ensure safety in the small car sector" type: "Topics" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/32422125.md" description: "Produced by Zhineng Technology As the new energy vehicle industry enters a new phase driven by technology, each company has its own trade-offs when it comes to product development, and price wars have inevitably become the choice for most companies. However, safety is no longer an option but a fundamental standard that determines the watershed of products. As a small pure electric vehicle priced at 119,800 yuan and with a length of only 4003mm, the Firefly achieved six G+ ratings in the latest round of tests by the China Insurance Research Institute, becoming the smallest and lowest-priced "all G+" model among the tested vehicles..." datetime: "2025-07-31T01:57:47.000Z" locales: - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/32422125.md) - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/32422125.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/topics/32422125.md) author: "[芝能-烟烟](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/11273666.md)" --- # Nio's Firefly, how to ensure safety in the small car sector ​​ Produced by Zhineng Technology As the new energy vehicle industry enters a new phase driven by technology, each company has its own trade-offs in product development, and price wars have inevitably become the choice for most companies.   However, safety is no longer an option but a fundamental standard that determines the watershed of products. As a small pure electric vehicle priced at 119,800 yuan and with a length of only 4003mm, the Firefly achieved six G+ ratings in the latest round of tests by the China Insurance Research Institute, becoming the smallest and lowest-priced "all G+" model in the test lineup. It also redefines the expression of safety for entry-level electric vehicles.   **01**   **How the Firefly Was Forged:** **The Engineering Answer to "Six-Dimensional Safety"**   01｜Active Safety: System Capability Over Hardware Stacking   In the vehicle assistance safety index project, the Firefly achieved a G+ rating with a score rate of 94.7%. The core lies in system capability rather than mere hardware stacking.   The vehicle comes standard with 24 high-performance sensing hardware components, paired with a 128TOPS computing platform unique in its class, enabling 13 active safety features such as vehicle-to-vehicle AEB, reverse emergency braking, acceleration suppression, and door opening warnings—all standard and mostly capable of OTA updates.   This system, which "looks like a novice but reacts like a veteran," is not isolated but built on years of accumulated experience in intelligent driving by its parent brand, Nio. For a model with a starting price of less than 120,000 yuan, this is a very counterintuitive configuration. 02｜Passive Safety: The Smallest Vehicle with Structural Crashworthiness G Beyond active prediction, the Firefly is also "tough" when it comes to collisions. In tests for structural crashworthiness, vehicle compatibility, and repairability, it received G ratings across the board, becoming the only electric vehicle under 4550mm in length to achieve a structural crashworthiness G rating among all tested models. A series of engineering innovations on the small-sized body are key to achieving this result. The diagonal beam design effectively prevents the headlights from pushing the fuse box during a collision, and the fuse box is also placed on the inner side of the shot gun to avoid direct impact zones.   The deformation paths of the AGS intake grille and air guide cover are finely tuned to ensure the cooling system remains "as good as new" in low-speed collisions.   The anti-collision beams are equally uncompromising. The front anti-collision beam has an effective height of 123mm, exceeding the average of mainstream models; the rear anti-collision beam reaches 116mm, effectively improving low-speed collision energy absorption. More importantly, the rear anti-collision beam uses 1500MPa-grade hot-formed steel, a material typically found only in high-end models. 03｜Repairability: Not Just Safety, but Cost-Friendly The Firefly's repairability rating is A, the highest under the current China Insurance Research Institute regulations. Its repair ratio of 4.62% is not only lower than most models priced above 200,000 yuan but also leads many B-segment sedans and joint-venture pure electric SUVs. To achieve this, the Firefly meticulously optimized the connection methods of parts, force paths, and material redundancy, even adopting an engineering-oriented split strategy in the front compartment layout. Many automakers choose to "stack materials for higher scores," but the Firefly found a balance between "less structural loss and more repair savings." 04｜Materials and Health Safety: Materials Are No Longer Silent Safety comes not only from steel, chips, and algorithms but also from material choices. The Firefly's interior materials have received OEKO-TEX Class 1 certification, and the cabin meets the "zero formaldehyde" standard for infants. It also features an "airing system" to prevent odor accumulation, which is extremely rare in entry-level models.   05｜Electrical and Data Safety: Inheriting Nio's Systematic Safety Design The battery structure is built to the standards of Nio's high-end models, using ultra-high-strength frames and ultra-long-life battery cells. Battery status is continuously monitored via the cloud, with active health assessment and warning functions. In terms of data security, the Firefly has established encrypted links across the vehicle system, app, and cloud, with all uploaded data anonymized. In an era where industry data compliance is increasingly emphasized, this approach is even ahead of some luxury brands. 06｜Conclusion: Entry-Level Electric Vehicles Should Not Compromise on Safety In the Firefly, there is no logic of "reducing safety to control costs." Instead, it provides a clear answer from an engineering perspective: even in the most competitive price segment, structural strength, sensing configurations, material choices, repairability, and algorithmic capabilities can still form a complete safety loop. **02** **Optimization of Structural Mechanics** **Extreme Occupant Safety**   Focusing on occupant safety and pedestrian safety, this section delves into the engineering practices of structural design, material selection, and energy transfer path construction, clarifying the technical logic of "achieving more with less."   ◎ The Firefly's body frame uses over 83.4% high-strength steel and aluminum alloy, with key load-bearing structures extensively using 1500MPa-grade hot-formed steel, which is extremely rare in small cars. In the 25% small overlap frontal crash test, the vehicle collided with a rigid barrier at 64.4km/h, with the A-pillar remaining vertical and unbent, and the front structure showing no severe intrusion. This is thanks to the trident-style front design and ring-shaped door structure.   Engineers used four high-tensile steel beams around the front door connected to crossbeams to create a force-dissipating path, rapidly dispersing collision energy into the absorption zone. The challenge of the 50% moderate overlap frontal crash lies in the offset load transfer caused by non-full frontal impacts. The ultra-wide anti-collision beam covering 70.6% of the vehicle width forms the first line of defense, while the lower leg protection beam extends to 75.66% of the width, forming a second buffer layer. This multi-layered structural protection system, combined with the force distribution design of the longitudinal beams and subframe, ensures that collision energy does not concentrate on the front structure, achieving near-zero intrusion into the passenger compartment. The side impact test is particularly stringent, with the barrier mass increased to 1650kg to simulate real-world collisions with SUVs, pickup trucks, and other large vehicles.   The Firefly maintained an undeformed A-pillar and roof within a 25.5cm survival space. It comes standard with nine airbags, including dual-chamber far-side airbags and 40% longer side curtains covering the rear head, significantly improving occupant survival probability.   Simultaneously, dynamic locking latches and pre-tensioned seatbelts with up to 2000N of force control occupant posture, preventing inertial sliding injuries—a rare feature in A0-segment models.   ◎ For roof strength, a closed-loop cage structure is used, with pressure-bearing beams made of 1500MPa hot-formed steel. In tests simulating rollovers or truck roof crush scenarios, overall deformation was well controlled, reflecting precise engineering of force paths and structural loop layout.   ◎ The Firefly also achieves deep integration of technology and design in pedestrian safety. In over 140 head impact tests, the angle and layout of the hood inner panel brackets were optimized to create an effective buffer space. Force is transmitted from the hood surface to elastic brackets and then dispersed to the front longitudinal beams, forming a non-rigid energy-absorbing structure to avoid concentrated impact. ◎ In the windshield area, the engineering team conducted five rounds of 131 iterations, adjusting interlayer structure and thickness to balance visibility rigidity and head protection, achieving "minor injury" test results at 40km/h. ◎ For leg protection, the Firefly used bionic dummy data to adjust sheet metal deformation paths. The soft-nose bumper combined with energy-absorbing sheet metal brackets actively sinks during impact, working with the lower leg protection beam to prevent legs from being pulled into the front axle—one of the few structures to achieve a G+ rating in tests.   ◎ More critically, the Firefly's AEB VRU system can identify pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter riders.   In high-speed urban conditions, the system perceives the environment through forward-facing millimeter-wave radar and 10 cameras, with a 128TOPS computing chip ensuring millisecond-level response. Among the 13 standard active safety features, many are designed for urban short-distance emergency avoidance scenarios, covering common novice mistakes.   **Summary**   The Firefly's all-G+ rating in the China Insurance Research Institute tests is not due to one-time hard collision strength design but stems from a systematic engineering approach to structural mechanics path construction, material performance selection, and safety configuration integration, achieving structural safety comparable to mid-size vehicles in a small car size—a classic example of "achieving more with less" technology.​​​​ ### Related Stocks - [NIO.SG](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NIO.SG.md) - [NIO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NIO.US.md) - [09866.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09866.HK.md)