Denza — From a BYD–Daimler Venture to BYD's Premium Brand

Denza at a glance

A joint venture of BYD and Daimler

BYD, the Shenzhen battery and car maker, and Daimler AG signed a memorandum of understanding on joint electric-vehicle development on 1 March 2010. On 27 May 2010 they formally established Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co., Ltd., an equal joint venture. It received its business licence in March 2011, introduced the Denza brand name in March 2012 and showed its first concept car at Auto China in Beijing in April 2012.

The project moved slowly. By September 2014 the two partners had invested more than €300 million, and the planned launch in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen slipped to the end of that year. The story of the Chinese partner is told in the BYD company history.

The Denza EV and the quiet years

The Denza EV made its debut in December 2014 and was sold only in selected Chinese cities. It was updated and renamed Denza 500 in 2018. A second model, based on the second-generation BYD Tang and styled by Mercedes-Benz designers, was presented in November 2019. It went on sale at the end of 2020 as the Denza X, only in China.

Sales stayed small throughout these years: 2,800 in 2015, 4,713 in 2017, 1,974 in 2018 and 4,708 in 2021. In December 2021 the partners announced a restructuring. The Denza X was dropped, the company was renamed Shenzhen Denza New Energy Vehicle Co., Ltd., and Mercedes-Benz reduced its stake from 50% to 10%, leaving BYD with 90%.

The D9 and the relaunch

The first car of the new Denza was the D9, a large MPV designed under Wolfgang Egger. Egger had joined BYD as head of design in November 2016 after working for Alfa Romeo, Audi and SEAT. Its name and design were revealed in April 2022, it was launched in China on 16 May 2022, and deliveries began on 25 October 2022. The D9 is offered as a plug-in hybrid on BYD's DM-i system, with a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine and up to 299 kW in all-wheel-drive form. The battery-electric model uses e-Platform 3.0, a 103.36 kWh LFP battery and up to 275 kW. The electric version is rated at 600–620 km on the Chinese CLTC cycle.

The D9 sold 9,803 in China in 2022, 118,595 in 2023 and 102,810 in 2024. The 100,000th car was built in September 2023 and the 250,000th in June 2025, which Denza says made it the first new-energy MPV to reach that figure. It is assembled in Xi'an, Shenzhen and Changsha and, for Indonesia, in Subang, West Java. More on the model is in the Denza D9 guide, and other large family vehicles are compared among the best MPVs.

SUVs, the Z9 GT and full BYD ownership

The range grew quickly. The N7, a battery-electric mid-size SUV on e-Platform 3.0, followed a concept shown in August 2022 and was launched in China in July 2023. It has 230 to 390 kW and a 91.4 kWh battery, and it is built in Jinan, Shandong. The N8 SUV was introduced in March 2023, followed in 2025 by the larger N8L and N9 plug-in hybrids.

In April 2024 Denza showed the Z9 GT at the Beijing Auto Show, together with a saloon called the Z9. The GT is a five-door shooting brake. The plug-in hybrid has a 2.0-litre turbo engine and three electric motors totalling 640 kW. The electric version uses three motors with 710 kW and a 122 kWh Blade battery rated at 600 km on the WLTP cycle. Its rear-wheel steering turns up to 20 degrees, which gives a turning radius of 4.62 m and a 15-degree "crab-walk" mode, and it uses BYD's DiSus-A air suspension. The electric version can charge at up to 1 MW at BYD's Flash Charging stations, 10–70% in about five minutes.

In September 2024 Mercedes-Benz transferred its remaining 10% stake to BYD, and Denza became a wholly owned subsidiary. BYD also has two other premium brands, Yangwang, announced on 5 January 2023, and Fangchengbao, announced on 9 June 2023. In August 2025 Denza added the B5 and B8 off-road SUVs for Middle East markets, rebadged versions of the Fangchengbao Bao 5 and Bao 8.

Exports and Europe

Exports began in 2024. Right-hand-drive sales of the electric D9 started in Hong Kong in June 2024, with a flagship store in Kowloon Bay. Cambodia became the first market in Southeast Asia in July 2024. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia followed between October 2024 and February 2025, and Australia in March 2026. In April 2025 Denza entered Europe with a brand launch in Milan, with the Z9 GT as its first European model. In March 2026 it named the actor Daniel Craig its global brand ambassador.

With 157,134 vehicles in 2025, Denza is now a significant brand in its own right inside BYD, which sold 4,272,145 vehicles worldwide in 2024. Its models on 1cars are listed in the Denza catalogue.

Denza timeline

Landmark Denza models

Photo gallery