Having previously focused on high-volume segments with an attractive price-performance ratio in Europe, BYD will soon be exporting its luxury models to the West. However, these will not only be sold under the acronym for ‘Build Your Dreams,’ but will also be offered under the independent Denza brand. The manufacturer has its sights set not only on Chinese carmakers such as Nio and Xpeng as potential competitors, but also on established German rivals Audi, Mercedes and BMW.
BYD announced the German market launch of its premium models back in April, without specifying a concrete date. Two months later, the manufacturer announced that the first orders for the Denza Z9 GT shooting brake would be accepted from the end of 2025.
However, Denza’s European debut appears to be slightly delayed. The Handelsblatt reports that BYD’s premium models will be available from spring onwards. Former Mercedes-Benz manager Klaus Hartmann, who was responsible for G-Class sales in China, among other things, is to ensure that the brand quickly establishes itself on the local market as the European brand manager. The BYD subsidiary wants to build up a dealer network comprising around 60 locations for this purpose.
The Denza Z9 GT is a shooting brake measuring just under 5.20 metres in length, which, like most of the BYD Group’s upmarket models, is available as both a pure electric car and a plug-in hybrid. The model has been on sale in its home country since September 2024. The target price for the local market is around €100,000.
The technical data is quite impressive: the pure BEV version is powered by a total of three motors, providing a system output of 710 kW (or 965 hp). This allows the 2.8-tonne colossus to sprint to 100 kph in 3.4 seconds, with a top speed of 240 kph.
The WLTP range has not yet been published, but according to the Chinese CLTC standard, the sports estate car can travel 630 kilometres on its 100 kWh battery. The local version can be expected to achieve over 400 kilometres. The all-electric Z9 GT is the carmaker’s first model to be equipped for BYD’s ‘Flash’ charging with up to 1,000 kW. The Chinese want to set up their own international charging infrastructure with several thousand charging points for this purpose.
In the plug-in hybrid version, the manufacturer has combined a 200 kW inline four-cylinder engine with two 220 kW electric motors positioned on the rear axle. The hybrid battery has a capacity of 38.5 kWh and enables a pure electric CLTC range of 201 kilometres. In combination with the combustion engine, the maximum range is even 1,101 kilometres.
Denza is adding the seven-seater luxury van D9, which was unveiled in China three years ago, to the Z9 GT in its starting lineup. It will compete with the upcoming successor to the electric Mercedes EQV. The D9 is also available as a pure electric car and as a rechargeable hybrid.
The BYD subsidiary claims a NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) range of up to 600 kilometres for the BEV variant. The LFP battery offers an energy content of approximately 103 kWh. The twin-motor version has a system output of 275 kW, enabling an unusually brisk sprint from zero to 100 kph in 6.9 seconds for this type of vehicle.
According to Denza’s European boss, Klaus Hartmann, the B5 SUV with a plug-in hybrid drive is to follow in the second half of the year. With its angular looks, it is somewhat reminiscent of the latest edition of the Toyota Land Cruiser. BYD’s premium brand is also working on a sports car under the abbreviation ‘Z’, but no further details are available at this stage.
In the coming years, the number of Denza series is set to grow to a total of eight. In the long term, slightly cheaper models are also to be launched on the market. In the medium term, the entry-level price is expected to be around €75,000. This means that the brand world starts where the core brand ends in terms of price.
handelsblatt.com (in German)
This article was first published by Elias Holdenried for electrive’s German edition.
