NIO said Tuesday its small electric vehicle model, the firefly, now starts at RMB 79,800 ($11,128) for customers who subscribe to a battery-leasing service with a monthly fee of RMB 399. The price is RMB 119,800 for customers who purchase the battery pack outright. New firefly buyers who place orders by the end of the month will also receive one free month of the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) program, provided they pay their bills every four months over the next three years, the company said in an announcement. The move allows customers to purchase the vehicle at a significantly lower price compared with competitors’ offerings, such as BMW’s electric Mini Cooper (RMB 148,800) and Volkswagen’s ID.3 hatchback (RMB 119,900). [TechNode reporting, NIO release, in Chinese]