Mercedes-Benz completely divests its stake in Denza

Mercedes-Benz and the Chinese manufacturer BYD have finally brought their collaboration to an end, following the creation in 2011 of a joint venture focused on producing electric vehicles for sale in the Chinese market. Although the two companies initially held equal stakes in the project, at 50 percent each, Mercedes-Benz ended up retaining only a 10 percent stake three years ago, selling the remainder to BYD.

Now, the German company has just announced that in July 2024 it also divested the remaining 10 percent stake, withdrawing completely from this project. Mercedes-Benz therefore no longer holds any shares in Denza, and BYD becomes the sole shareholder. As a result, Denza models will not incorporate any technology from Mercedes-Benz.

The decision by Mercedes-Benz is in line with its new strategy set in 2021. At that time, the company’s management decided to focus on the core Mercedes-Benz brand and, as a consequence, reduced its stake in Denza from 50 to 10 percent. A decision probably influenced by Denza’s weak sales, which by the end of 2021 had sold only 23,000 vehicles since its launch in 2011.

For its part, BYD has since been repositioning the Denza brand to establish it as a global luxury marque. A strategy that appears to be paying off, as under BYD’s management Denza’s sales have improved significantly, surpassing 200,000 units sold.

Denza is no longer what it was… it is much better

The new Denza Z9, recently registered in China, is an example of what Denza now produces without Mercedes-Benz technology. This saloon, which will launch this year in fully electric and plug-in hybrid versions, is the second model in Denza’s Z series after the Z9 GT, which goes on sale on September 20.

With a design reminiscent of the Porsche Taycan, the Z9 measures 5.22 metres long, 1.99 metres wide and 1.50 to 1.52 metres high depending on the version, with a wheelbase of 3.13 metres. The fully electric version of the Z9 has three motors, each delivering a maximum power of between 230 kW and 240 kW, allowing this high-performance model to reach a top speed of 240 km/h.

The first units of the Denza Z9 are expected to begin arriving on the Chinese market during the last quarter of this same year.