Denza - the Premium brand of BYD - will reach the European market at the end of the year

Last April, BYD announced its intention to introduce its Premium brand Denza in Europe, although at that time it gave no specific details about when this would happen. A couple of months later, the Chinese manufacturer has just confirmed that it will begin accepting orders in Germany and Austria from the last quarter of this year.

On its debut in Europe, Denza will offer two electric models in its lineup: the Z9 GT family model and the D9 electric MPV. Klaus Hartmann, appointed new Regional Sales Director of Denza Europe last March, will lead the arrival of BYD’s Premium brand in Europe, drawing on his previous experience at other high-level companies such as Daimler and Ineos.

The Z9 GT, which has been on sale in China since September 2024, will be offered in two versions: a pure electric one and a plug-in hybrid. The first will feature three motors capable of delivering a combined output of up to 710 kW, allowing it to reach 100 km/h from a standstill in just 3.4 seconds. It will also be equipped with a 100 kWh battery pack with which it can cover 630 km under the Chinese CLTC homologation cycle, although the figure homologated under the European WLTP cycle is still unknown and should in principle be lower.

Additionally, the hybrid version will combine a 200 kW petrol engine with two electric motors on the rear axle of 220 kW each, along with a 38.5 kWh battery pack. Enough to offer a CLTC range in pure electric mode of 201 km and a total range with the support of the combustion engine of 1,101 km.

Travels in Business class

On the other hand, as we have already mentioned, the second model Denza will sell in Europe will be the seven-seat D9 Premium MPV, which has been on sale in China since 2022. In its announcement for Europe, BYD describes this model as a leading electrified MPV in its class, but it does not clarify which versions will be sold in this market, pure electric, hybrid or both.

Following the launch of these two models at the end of this same year, Denza plans to introduce a large premium SUV in 2026, of which the only thing we know for now is that it will be a plug-in hybrid.

Denza was born in 2011 as an alliance between BYD and Daimler to produce affordable electric vehicles, but the results were not as expected. Over time, Daimler reduced its stake, and in July 2024, Mercedes-Benz sold the remaining 10 percent to BYD. Since then, Denza has been exclusively owned by the Chinese manufacturer, which has repositioned the brand towards the luxury segment instead of affordable vehicles.