BYD launches its premium Denza brand in Europe targeting the luxury battery-electric-vehicle models from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla.
While it’s a bold move at a time when the high-end BEV sector is under stress on the Continent, the Chinese automaker is laying ground for future sales outside of its domestic market.
Denza makes its European debut at the Milan Design Week, also attended by executive vice-president Stella Li.
Sales in various European markets willbegin at the end of this year with the BEV version of the Denza Z9 GT sports station wagon boasting the equivalent of 1,000-hp, followed by a hybrid version due in early 2026.
Prices have yet to be released, but the sticker is likely to be more than BYD’s most expensive model currently on sale in Europe, the Tang performance full-size SUV, retailing from €72,000 ($78,790).
Denza , once a joint venture owned equally between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, is very much a niche, advanced-technology brand and last year accounted for just 3% of BYD’s 4.2 million global sales last year, with more than 90% of them sold in China.
The group’s special adviser for Europe, Alfredo Altavilla, tells Reuters that Denza will be the technological forerunner for the group.
“It will anticipate tech features that will later appear on BYD brand cars,” Altavilla says. “The aim is to make Denza a full-liner premium brand," adding that this targets both traditional premium clients and younger customers who have a particular interest in technology.
Altavilla also says the Denza range will include the D9 van by year’s end, while two off-road vehicles could be added in the future.
