Chinese electric car giant BYD will bring its Denza premium brand to Europe this year, with a line-up headed by the bold, electric and PHEV-powered Z9 GT.
The launch is the latest move by BYD to ramp up its European market assault – and its most ambitious, with executive vice-president Stella Li previously telling Autocar it was targeting Porsche and other European upmarket performance brands.
Denza will initially sell its flagship grand tourer, which offers 952bhp in EV form, and will be followed by a seven-seat MPV called the D9.
Launched in Europe during Milan Design Week, Denza uses the marketing line ‘Technology drives elegance’, with BYD chiefs promising a line-up that feature “elegant European design influences” and cutting-edge technology.
Li said the brand would offer “for the first time in this segment, a true focus on efficient, sustainable new-energy powertrains”.
While an exact timeline hasn't been set, Denza will come to the UK either late this year or in early 2026, building up a separate dealer network and marketing operation from BYD.
Li said Denza would eventually offer a line-up of four to six models in Europe, also including SUVs and off-roaders. As well as the Z9 and D9, Denza currently offers the N7 and N9 SUVs in China.
While premium brand customers in Europe are regarded as being brand-focused, Li said she thought entering the market would be “not too much of a challenge.”
She added: “Selling BYD cars is simple: just bring all the competing cars to a test track and let customers choose for themselves.
“The Denza product is ten times better than the competition. We have lots of unique features that legacy brands do not have.”
Li added that “BYD has technology plus design”, claiming that Danza’s styling – led by former Audi designer Wolfgang Egger – would be another key selling point.
Z9 GT to lead European invasion
The four-seat Z9 GT is a Porsche Taycan and Porsche Panamera rival that sits on an advanced platform called e3 that has been developed specifically for Denza.
It features an 800V electrical architecture that allows of ultra-fast charging, cell-to-body battery integration to increase rigidity and the ability for a drivetrain featuring three electric motors.
Styled by Egger, the shooting brake is 5180mm long and 1990mm wide but sits just 1500mm high.
Air suspension is standard, with a double-wishbone set-up at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear.
While Denza has yet to confirm European specifications, the Chinese-market electric version features a 308bhp motor on the front axle and a pair of 322bhp motors that can run at up to 21,000rpm at the rear.
That gives a combined system output of 952bhp and allows for a 0-62mph time of 3.4sec and, with a 100kWh BYD Blade battery, a range of 391 miles on the Chinese test cycle.
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Changing the S and O does not make me forget that.
A pity as the car looks mostly good except for them ghastly rear lights.
The party trick?, Crab walk!?, when is that the only option with a car this long?, doesn't it damage the Tyres doing this?, I feel there's so much pointless tech put in cars these Days, I don't think the likes of Porsche etc have much to worry about.
5.2 metres long is just plain wrong for a 5 seater, it's a fair chunk longer than a Q8 or XC90 seven seater.