Denza is coming: BYD’s premium sub-brand to hit UK showrooms

Denza, the premium technology-focused brand owned by Chinese automotive giant BYD, has declared it’s coming to Europe and the UK. It’ll be a rival to elite brands like Audi, BMW and Lexus, and the first weapon in its arsenal against them could be a shooting brake estate that delivers around 1,000bhp. 

Like so many of the new car brands coming to the UK from China, you’re unlikely to have heard of Denza before. It was launched in 2010, originally as a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz but is now solely owned by BYD. 

Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly when Denza will be coming to the UK market. But we should get a better idea soon as the brand will be coming along to Milan Design Week in April to show us its “vision of future mobility” which hopefully includes a timeline for launching in Europe. 

That also means we don’t know which cars Denza plans to offer to Brits. It currently has five models in its line-up, including the Z9GT estate car that’s available with plug-in hybrid or pure-electric power. The EV version uses a tri-motor powertrain – like you’ll find a Tesla Model S Plaid – that delivers around 1,000bhp and 0-62mph in three seconds. 

There’s also the Z9 saloon, D9 luxury MPV, N7 mid-size SUV and Denza’a latest creation, the N9 large SUV, which we could easily see challenging the likes of the Kia EV9 and Volvo EX90 in the UK. 

Some of those cars use the same e-Platform 3.0 as the BYD Seal, Dolphin and other models. However, being the premium marque, Denza’s cars get features and technology that their BYD-badged cousins simply don't. Meanwhile, the Z9 and Z9GT use a new e3 platform that can accommodate both EV and PHEV powertrains, as well as other technology like independent rear-wheel steering.

It also remains to be seen whether Denza cars will be sold through BYD showrooms, or in their own dedicated locations like they are in China. 

Check any car's MoT history in a few easy clicks with our MoT checker tool...