Denza is a luxury electric vehicle brand borne from a joint venture between BYD and Merdedes-Benz Group in May 2010. In late 2021, Mercedes-Benz divested part of 50% ownership down to 10%, with BYD owning the remaining 90%. Denza, or "Tengshi" (腾势) in Chinese, translates to "rising power and momentum".
Ownership restructuring
Mercedes-Benz' decision to divest its ownership came on the back of repeated misses on sales expectations, especially following the unsuccessful launch of the Denza X at the end of 2020.
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Following the restructuring, the Denza X was replaced by the Denza N8 with a major facelift, but neither the N8 nor N7, both of which are SUV models, have had significant success in the Chinese market yet.
In fact, the Denza brand is mostly synonymous with high-end multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) with its Denza D9 DM-i topping monthly MPV sales ranking. BYD hopes that Denza's brand will soon achieve breakthrough with its upcoming Denza Z9 GT, a flagship station wagon.
The Z9 GT will be available as a 5-door "grand tourer" wagon and is designed by combining extreme performance and top-of-the-class luxury attributes. BYD revealed that a traditional sedan version will also be introduced to the market later.
Wolfgang Egger
The Z9 was designed by BYD's current global design director, Wolfgang Egger and former head designer of Alfa Romeo, Audi, and Lamborghini. The Z9 GT is benchmarked against European high-end luxury vehicles such as the Porsche Panamera and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
The Z9 will feature a "million yuan" price tag, or roughly 140,000 USD. The vehicle will be offered in two versions: plug-in hybrid and pure electric and uses a CTB (cell to body) battery integration. CTB integrates battery cells directly into the vehicle's body structure, optimizing space and improving energy efficiency.
Interior design
On July 5, Denza announced the official interior design of the Z9 GT. The design mirrors that of the BYD N7, featuring BYD's 2.0 cockpit layout. The interior boasts extensive use of soft leather and wood grain panels.
The central control includes three screens: an instrument screen, a central control screen, and a co-pilot entertainment screen.
The new four-spoke steering wheel has buttons for auxiliary driving and entertainment functions on both sides, along with paddles at the back for adjusting auxiliary driving settings.
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The BYD Z9 GT seats feature one-piece cutting and split headrests, with both front and rear seats offering electric adjustment, heating, ventilation, and 10-point massage functions.
The co-pilot seat is a zero-gravity seat with a four-way adjustable leg rest. The rear seats include a seat cushion length adjustment, ventilation/heating, and 10-point massage functions, along with a standard rear center armrest.
Not one, but TWO refrigerators
Notably, the BYD Z9 GT includes front and rear dual-function heating and cooling refrigerators. The front refrigerator, located in the front center armrest, has a 4L capacity and can fit up to 6 bottles of Coke.
The rear refrigerator, in the rear center armrest, has a 10L capacity, ample for 2 bottles of champagne or 4 bottles of red wine, with heating temperatures of 35°C to 50°C and cooling temperatures of -6°C to 6°C.
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Some have questioned the necessity of having two refrigerators, but He Zhiqi, the Executive VP and COO of BYD backed this design with some use case examples.
For instance, a dad can enjoy a cold cola while his child has hot milk, or a lady can use one fridge to cool facial masks and another to warm them. Just like adding an extra fridge in a luxury home isn’t extravagant, having an additional refrigerator in a luxury vehicle enhances the user's experience.
Exterior Design
In terms of dimensions, the Denza Z9 GT's length, width, and height are 5,180/1,990/1,500 (1,480) mm, respectively, with a wheelbase of 3,125 mm. The overall appearance of the car is elegant and dynamic, with a flattened front design and a fastback rear. The Z9 GT features long and sharp headlights, giving the vehicle a very sporty and aggressive look.
Engine Power
The Z9 GT comes in two versions, pure electric and plug-in hybrid. The pure electric version is equipped with dual rear motors with 480 kW of maximum power and a front motor with 230 kW, totalling 710 kW of motor power and a maximum speed of 240km/h.
The PHEV version uses a 2.0T engine with three motors, consisting of a maximum engine power of 152 kW and total motor power of 640 kW, 200 kW from the front motor and 220 kW for each of the rear motors.